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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



SHAKESPEARE'S 



TRAGEDY OF 



King Lear 



EDITED, WITH NOTES 
BY 

WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Litt.D. 

FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OF THE HIGH SCHOOL. 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



ILL USTRA TED 



NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



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Copyright, 1903, by 
WILLIAM J. ROLFE. 



KING LEAR. 
W. P. I 



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PREFACE 

This edition of King Lear was first published in 
1880. As now revised, it is substantially a new edition 
on the same general plan as the revised Merchant of 
Venice, Macbeth, Hamlet, and other plays that have 
preceded it. 

Many of the notes on textual variatiofis have been 
either omitted or abridged. Those that have been 
retained are mostly on the passages (particularly nu- 
merous in this play) in which different readings from 
the folio or the quarto have been adopted in the more 
important modern editions. For further information on 
this subject Dr. Furness's edition may be consulted. 
No teacher or critical student can afford to do without 
his' encyclopedic volumes, in which all the readings and 
notes of the early and standard modern editions are 
recorded or epitomized, together with large extracts 
from the best commentators and much admirable 
criticism from Dr. Furness himself. 

I have also omitted most of the " Critical Com- 
ments " from the introduction, as the books from 
which they were taken are now to be found in public 
or school libraries. For these extracts I have sub- 
stituted familiar comments of my own, and have added 
more of ,the same kind in the Appendix. A concise 
account of Shakespeare's metre has also been inserted 
as an introduction to the Notes. 

Minor ' changes have been made throughout the 
Notes. Some have been abridged, some have been 

5 



6 Preface 

expanded, and new ones have been added, including a 
considerable number in place of those referring to my 
editions of other plays. The book is now absolutely 
complete in itself. 

I believe that the new edition will be generally pre- 
ferred to the old one ; but both can be used, without 
serious inconvenience, in the same class or club. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction to King Lear 9 

The History of the Play . 9 

The Sources of the Plot 11 

General Comments on the Play . . . . 13 

King Lear 17 

Act I 19 

Act II 56 

Act III 84 

Act IV no 

Act V • . . . . 140 

Notes 163 

Appendix 285 

Lear's Insanity 285 

Cordelia : Her Character and her Fate .... 289 

Tate's Version of the Play 293 

The Time- Analysis of the Play 295 

List of Characters in the Play 296 

Index of Words and Phrases explained . . . 299 

7 




Country near Dover 




Lear (Sir Joshua Reynolds) 



INTRODUCTION TO KING LEAR 



The History of the Play 



King Lear was first published in quarto form in 
1608, with the following title-page : — 

" M. William Shak-speare : His True Chronicle His- 
toric of the life and death of King Lear and his three 
Daughters. With the vnfortunate life of Edgar, sonne 
and heire to the Earle of Gloster, and his sullen and 
assumed humor of Tom of Bedlam : As it was played 

9 



io King Lear 

before the Kings Maiestie at Whitehall vpon S. Stephans 
night in Christmas Hollidayes. By his Maiesties ser- 
uants playing vsually at the Gloabe on the Bancke- 
side. London, Printed for Nathaniel Butter, and are 
to be sold at his shop in Pauls Church-yard at the 
signe of the Pide Bull neere St. Austins Gate. 1608." 

A second quarto edition was issued by the same pub- 
lisher in the same year, the title-page of which is simi- 
lar, except that it omits " and are to be sold ... St. 
Austins Gate." 

The text of the folio of 1623 is generally regarded as 
better than that of the quartos, and appears to have 
been printed from an independent manuscript. Each 
text, however, is valuable as supplying the deficiencies 
of the other. The quartos, according to Furness, con- 
tain about two hundred and twenty lines that are not in 
the folios, and the folios fifty lines that are not in the 
quartos. One entire scene (iv. 3) is omitted in the 
folios. This discrepancy in the texts has been the sub- 
ject of much investigation and discussion ; and the 
critics differ widely in their explanations of it. 

The date of the play cannot be earlier than 1603 nor 
later than 1606. The former limit is fixed by the pub- 
lication of Dr. Harsnet's Declaration of Popish Impos- 
tures, from which Shakespeare got the names of some 
of the devils mentioned by Edgar in iii. 4 ; and the 
latter by the entry of the play in the Stationers' Regis- 
ters, dated November 26, 1607, which states that it 
was performed " before the kinges maiestie at White- 



Introduction n 

hall vppon Sainct Stephens night at Christmas Last," 
that is, upon the 26th of December, 1606. 

The Sources of the Plot 

The story of King Lear and his three daughters is 
one of the oldest in English literature. It is told by 
Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Britonum, by 
Layamon in his Brut, by Robert of Gloucester, by Fab- 
yan in his Chronicle, by Spenser in the Faerie Queene, 
by Holinshed in his Chronicle, by Camden in his Re- 
maines, in the Mirrour for Magistrates, in Warner's 
Albion's England, and elsewhere in prose and verse. 
It had also been dramatized in the Chronicle History of 
King Leir, which is probably the same play that was 
entered in the Stationers' Register in 1594, and that 
was reprinted in 1605 — possibly on account of the 
success of Shakespeare's Lear, then just brought out. 
The author of this old play probably took the story 
from Holinshed, and Shakespeare drew either from the 
same source or from the old play. The portion of the 
plot in which Gloster figures was derived from Sir 
Philip Sidney's Arcadia. But the poet's real debt to 
his predecessors is so insignificant that it is scarce worth 
tracing or recording. As Furness well says, " the dis- 
tance is always immeasurable between the hint and the 
fulfilment; what to our purblind eyes is a bare, naked 
rock, becomes, when gilded by Shakespeare's heavenly 
alchemy, encrusted thick all over with jewels. When, 



12 King Lear 

after reading one of his tragedies, we turn to what we 
are pleased to call the 'original of his plot/ I am 
reminded of those glittering gems, of which Heine 
speaks, that we see at night in lovely gardens, and 
think must have been left there by kings' children at 
play ; but when we look for these jewels by day we 
see only wretched little worms which crawl painfully 
away, and which the foot forbears to crush only out of 
strange pity." 

The old play of King Leir is not so poor a thing as 
some of the critics have represented. Though almost 
infinitely below Shakespeare's tragedy, it has some 
features that place it above the average of contempo- 
rary dramatic productions. Campbell the poet, who was 
an excellent critic, calls it " simple and touching." He 
adds : " There is one scene in it, the meeting of Corde- 
lia with her father in a lonely forest, which, with Shake- 
speare's Lear in my heart, I could scarcely read with 
dry eyes." Nevertheless, as Campbell says, Shake- 
speare " has sublimated the old tragedy into a new one 
by an entire originality in the spiritual portraiture of 
its personages. . . . Wherever Shakespeare works on 
old materials, you will find him, not wiping dusted gold, 
but extracting gold from dust, where none but himself 
could have made the golden extraction." 

One scene in the old play reminds me of Longfellow's 
Miles Standish, and Priscilla's " Why don't you speak 
for yourself, John ? " The King of France and one of 
his nobles, disguised as pilgrims, fall in with Cordelia 



Introduction 13 

after her father has cast her off. They tell her that the 
King, whom she has not seen, is a suitor for her hand. 
But Cordelia says that she will not have him, adding 
with characteristic frankness : — 

" Then be advised, palmer, what to do : 
Cease for thy king, seek for thyself to woo. 

King. Your birth 's too high for any but a king. 

Cordelia. My mind is low enough to love a palmer." 

The King soon reveals himself, and Cordelia gets a 
royal husband after all. 



General Comments on the Play 

If Lear was an historical character, he is supposed 
to have lived in the eighth century, and that may well 
be the time of the dramatic action. Shakespeare ap- 
pears to have purposely taken us back into heathen and 
barbarous times. The whole atmosphere is pagan. 
There is not a single deliberate reference to Chris- 
tianity or its institutions. Occasionally, as in the Ro- 
man plays, we meet with a careless or accidental allusion 
to something associated with Christian times — like the 
mention of a "godson" — but this is simply an illus- 
tration of the poet's unscholarly habits, which lead him 
into anachronisms. They do not make the play Chris- 
tian any more than the allusion to " holy churchyards " 
in Coriolanus or to nunneries in the Midsummer- Night J s 
Dream. Lear himself is a barbarian monarch ; Goneril, 



14 King Lear 

Regan, and Edmund are savages. The plucking out of 
Gloster's eyes is a piece of savagery in keeping with the 
times. Even the better characters, like Kent, have a 
certain uncivilized impetuosity about them. The gods 
of the play are heathen gods. Astrology, though Ed- 
mund sneers at it, being an atheist, is a part of the gen- 
eral faith. As Kent says, — 

" It is the stars, 
The stars above us, govern our conditions." 

Lear swears by — 

" the sacred radiance of the sun, 
The mysteries of Hecate and the night, 
By all the operation of the orbs, 
From whom we do exist and cease to be." 

It is also the Celtic race that we have to deal with, 
not the Saxon — a race " highly inflammable, headstrong, 
flushed with sudden angers, and breaking out into wild 
violences, but also, in its better children at least, of a 
deep tenderness and sincerity ; in short, a highly emo- 
tional race, quickly stirred to good and to evil ; swift 
to love, swift to hate ; blessing and cursing with the 
same breath ; with eyes, now full of a gentle solicitude 
and regard, now flashing into an intolerable frenzy of 
detestation ; a blind, hysterical race, if not wisely coun- 
selled and judiciously led ; but under good auspices 
springing forward with a splendid vivacity to the high- 
jest prizes of glory and honour." Lear himself is the 
/very type of this race : so is Kent ; so is Cornwall : — 



Introduction 15 

" You know the fiery quality of the duke, 
How unremovable and fix'd he is 
In his own course." 

And in Cordelia we see the same Celtic impulsiveness. 
She cannot control the indignation kindled in her soul 
by the false protestations of her sisters. 

But to presume to comment upon Lear seems little 
short of profanity. One cannot but agree with Hazlitt, 
who says, in his Characters of Shakespeare'' s Plays: 
" We wish that we could pass this play over and say 
nothing about it. All that we can say must fall far 
short of the subject, or even of what we ourselves con- 
ceive of it. To attempt to give a description of the 
play itself, or of its effect upon the mind, is mere im- 
\ pertinence ; yet we must say something. It is, then, 
'the best of all Shakespeare's plays, for it is the one in 
which he was the most in earnest. He was here fairly 
caught in the web of his own imagination. The passion 
which he has taken as his subject is that which strikes 
its root deepest into the human heart, of which the 
bond is the hardest to be unloosed, and the cancelling 
and tearing to pieces of which gives the greatest revul- 
sion to the frame. This depth of nature, this force of 
passion, this tug and war of the elements of our being, 
this firm faith in filial piety, and the giddy anarchy and 
whirling tumult of the thoughts at finding the prop fail- 
ing it ; the contrast between the fixed, immovable basis 
of natural affection and the rapid, irregular starts of 
imagination, suddenly wrenched from all its accus- 



1 6 King Lear 

tomed holds and resting-places in the soul — this is 
what Shakespeare has given, and what nobody else but 
he could give." 

Coleridge remarks : "In the Shakespearian drama 
there is a vitality which grows and evolves itself from 
within, a key-note which guides and controls the har- 
monies throughout. What is Lear ? It is storm and 
tempest — the thunder at first grumbling in the far 
horizon, then gathering around us, and at length burst- 
ing in fury over our heads — succeeded by a breaking 
of the clouds for a while, a last flash of lightning, the 
closing-in of night, and the single hope of darkness." 



KING LEAR 



KING LEAR — 2 I J. 



DRAMATIS PERSONS 



Lear, king of Britain. 

King of France. 

Duke of Burgundy. 

Duke of Cornwall. 

Duke of Albany. 

Earl of Kent. 

Earl of Gloster. 

Edgar, son to Gloster. 

Edmund, bastard son to Gloster. 

Curan, a courtier. 

Oswald, steward to Goneril. 

Old Man, tenant to Gloster. 

Doctor. 

Fool. 

A Captain employed by Edmund* 

Gentleman attendant on Cordelia. 

A Herald. 

Servants to Cornwall. 

Goneril, ) 

Regan, > daughters to Lear. 

Cordelia, ) 

Knights of Lear's train, Captains, Mes- 
sengers, Soldiers, and Attendants. 

Scene: Britain. 



iS 







ACT I 



Scene I. King Lear's Palace 

Enter Kent, Gloster, and Edmund 

Kent. I thought the king had more affected the 
Duke of Albany than Cornwall. 

Gloster. It did always seem so to us ; but now, in 
the division of the kingdom, it appears not which of 
the dukes he values most, for qualities are so weighed 

19 



20 King Lear [Act I 

that curiosity in neither can make choice of either's 
moiety. 

Kent. Is not this your son, my lord ? 

Gloster. His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge ; 
I have so often blushed to acknowledge him that now 10 
I am brazed to 't. Do you smell a fault ? 

Kent. I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue of 
it being so proper. 

Gloster. But I have a son, sir, by order of law, 
some year elder than this, who yet is no dearer in 
my account ; though this knave came something 
saucily into the world before he was sent for, yet was 
his mother fair, and the whoreson must be acknowl- 
edged. — Do you know this noble gentleman, Ed- 
mund ? 20 

Edmund. No, my lord. 

Gloster. My lord of Kent. Remember him here- 
after as my honourable friend. 

Edmund. My services to your lordship. 

Kent. I must love you, and sue to know you better. 

Edmund. Sir, I shall study deserving. 

Gloster. He hath been out nine years, and away 
he shall again. — The king is coming. [Sennet within. 

Enter one bearing a coronet, King Lear, Cornwall, 
Albany, Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, and Attend- 
ants 

Lear. Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, 
Gloster. 



Scene I] King Lear ai 

Gloster. I shall, my liege. 30 

[Exeunt Gloster and Edmund. 
Lear. Meantime we shall express our darker pur- 
pose. — 
Give me the map there. — Know that we have 

divided 
In three our kingdom ; and 't is our fast intent 
To shake all cares and business from our age, 
Conferring them on younger strengths, while we 
Unburthen'd crawl toward death. — Our son of Corn- 
wall, — 
And you, our no less loving son of Albany, 
We have this hour a constant will to publish 
Our daughters' several dowers, that future strife 
May be prevented now. The princes, France and 
Burgundy, 4° 

Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love, 
Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn, 
And here are to be answer 'd. — Tell me, my daughters, 
Since now we will divest us both of rule, 
Interest of territory, cares of state, 
Which of you shall we say doth love us most ? 
That we our largest bounty may extend 
Where nature doth with merit challenge. — Goneril, 
Our eldest-born, speak first. 

Goneril. Sir, I love you more than word can wield 
the matter ; 5° 

Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty ; 
Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare ; 



22 King Lear [Act I 

No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour ; 
As much as child e'er lov'd or father found ; 
A love that makes breath poor and speech unable ; 
Beyond all manner of so much I love you. 

Cordelia. [Aside] What shall Cordelia speak ? Love, 
and be silent. 

Lear. Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, 
With shadowy forests and with champaigns rich'd, 
With plenteous rivers and wide-skirted meads, 60 

We make thee lady. To thine and Albany's issue 
Be this perpetual. — What says our second daughter, 
Our dearest Regan, wife of Cornwall? 

Regan. I am made of that self metal as my sister, 
And prize me at her worth. In my true heart 
I find she names my very deed of love, 
Only she comes too short ; that I profess 
Myself an enemy to all other joys 
Which the most precious square of sense professes, 
And find I am alone felicitate 70 

In your dear highness' love. 

Cordelia. [Aside] Then poor Cordelia ! 

And yet not so, since I am sure my love's 
More ponderous than my tongue. 

Lear. To thee and thine hereditary ever 
Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom, 
No less in space, validity, and pleasure, 
Than that conferr'd on Goneril. — Now, our joy, 
Although our last and least, to whose young love 
The vines of France and milk of Burgundy 



„ Scene I] King Lear 23 

Strive to be interess'd, what can you say to draw 80 

A third more opulent than your sisters ? Speak. 

Cordelia. Nothing, my lord. 

Lear. Nothing? 

Cordelia. Nothing. 

Lear. Nothing will come of nothing ; speak again. 

Cordelia. Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave 
My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty 
According to my bond, no more nor less. 

Lear. How, how, Cordelia ! mend your speech a little, 
Lest it may mar your fortunes. 

Cordelia. ' Good my lord, 90 

You have begot me, bred me, lov'd me ; I 
Return those duties back as are right fit, 
Obey you, love you, and most honour you. 
Why have my sisters husbands, if they say 
They love you all ? Haply, when I shall wed, 
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry 
Half my love with him, half my care and duty. 
Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters, 
To love my father all. 

Lear.' But goes thy heart with this ? 

Cordelia. Ay, my good lord. 

Lear. So young, and so untender ? 101 

Cordelia. So young, my lord, and true. 

Lear. Let it be so ; thy truth then be thy dower ! 
For, by the sacred radiance of the sun, 
The mysteries of Hecate and the night, 
By all the operation of the orbs 



24 King Lear [Act I 

From whom we do exist and cease to be, 

Here I disclaim all my paternal care, 

Propinquity and property of blood, 

And as a stranger to my heart and me no 

Hold thee from this for ever. The barbarous Scythian, 

Or he that makes his generation messes 

To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom 

Be as well neighbour'd, pitied, and reliev'd, 

As thou my sometime daughter. 

Kent. Good my liege, — 

Lear. Peace, Kent ! 
Come not between the dragon and his wrath. 
I lov'd her most, and thought to set my rest 
On her kind nursery. — Hence, and avoid my sight ! — 
So be my grave my peace, as here I give 120 

Her father's heart from her ! — Call France. Who stirs ? 
Call Burgundy. — Cornwall and Albany, 
With my two daughters' dowers digest the third. 
Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her. 
I do invest you jointly with my power, 
Pre-eminence, and all the large effects 
That troop with majesty. Ourself, by monthly course, 
With reservation of an hundred knights, 
By you to be sustain 'd, shall our abode 
Make with you by due turn. Only we shall retain 130 
The name and all the addition to a king ; 
The sway, revenue, execution of the rest, 
Beloved sons, be yours, — which to confirm, 
This coronet part between you. 



Scene I] King Lear 25 

Kent. Royal Lear, 

Whom I have ever honour 'd as my king, 
Lov'd as my father, as my master follow'd, 
As my great patron thought on in my prayers, — 

Lear. The bow is bent and drawn ; make from the 
shaft. 

Kent. Let it fall rather, though the fork invade 
The region of my heart ! Be Kent unmannerly 140 

When Lear is mad. What wouldst thou do, old 

man ? 
Think'st thou that duty shall have dread to speak 
When power to flattery bows ? To plainness honour 's 

bound 
When majesty falls to folly. Reserve thy state, 
And in thy best consideration check 
This hideous rashness. Answer my life my judgment, 
Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least ; 
Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sound 
Reverbs no hollowness. 

Lear. Kent, on thy life, no more ! 

Kent. My life I never held but as a pawn 150 

To wage against thy enemies, nor fear to lose it, 
Thy safety being the motive. 

Lear. Out of my sight ! 

Kent. See better, Lear, and let me still remain 
The true blank of thine eye. 

Lear. Now, by Apollo, — 

Kent. Now, by Apollo, king. 

Thou swear'st thy gods in vain. 



iG King Lear [Act I 

Lear. O, vassal ! miscreant! 

[Laying his hand on his sword. 

Albany. \ Dear ^ forbear 

Cornwall. ) 

Kent. Kill thy physician, and the fee bestow 
Upon the foul disease. Revoke thy gift ; 
Or, whilst I can vent clamour from my throat, 160 

I '11 tell thee thou dost evil. 

Lear. Hear me, recreant ! 

On thine allegiance, hear me ! 
That thou hast sought to make us break our vow, 
Which we durst never yet, and with strain'd pride 
To come betwixt our sentence and our power, 
Which nor our nature nor our place can bear, 
Our potency made good, take thy reward. 
Five days we do allot thee, for provision 
To shield thee from diseases of the world, 
And on the sixth to turn thy hated back 170 

Upon our kingdom ; if on the tenth day following 
Thy banish'd trunk be found in our dominions, 
The moment is thy death. Away ! By Jupiter, 
This shall not be revok'd. 
' Kent. ' Fare thee well, king ; sith thus thou, wilt 
appear, 
Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here. — 
The gods to their dear shelter take thee, maid, 
That justly think'st and hast most rightly said ! — 
And your large speeches may your deeds approve, 
That good effects may spring from words of love. — 180 



Scene I] King Lear 27 

Thus Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu ; 

He '11 shape his old course in a country new. [Exit. 

Flourish. Re-enter Gloster, with France, Burgundy, 
and Attendants. 

Gloster. Here 's France and Burgundy, my noble 
lord. 

Lear. My lord of Burgundy, 
We first address toward you, who with this king 
Hath rivalPd for our daughter ; what, in the least, 
Will you require in present dower with her, 
Or cease your quest of love ? 

Burgundy. Most royal majesty, 

I crave no more than hath your highness offer'd, 
Nor will you tender less. 

Lear. Right noble Burgundy, 190 

When she was dear to us we did hold her so, 
But now her price is fallen. Sir, there she stands. 
If aught within that little-seeming substance, 
Or all of it, with our displeasure piec'd, 
And nothing more, may fitly like your grace, 
She 's there, and she is yours. 

Burgundy. I know no answer. 

Lear. Will you, with those infirmities she owes, 
Unfriended, new-adopted to our hate, 
Dower'd with our curse and stranger'd with our oath, 
Take her or leave her ? 

Burgundy. Pardon me, royal sir ; 200 

Election makes not up on such conditions. 



28 King Lear [Act I 

Lear. Then leave her, sir; for, by the power that 
made me, 
I tell you all her wealth. — [To France] For you, 

great king, 
I would not from your love make such a stray 
To match you where I hate, therefore beseech you 
To avert your liking a more worthier way 
Than on a wretch whom nature is asham'd 
Almost to acknowledge hers. 

France. This is most strange, 

That she who even but now was your best object, 
The argument of your praise, balm of your age, 210 

The best, the dearest, should in this trice of time 
Commit a thing so monstrous to dismantle 
So many folds of favour. Sure, her offence 
Must be of such unnatural degree 
That monsters it, or your fore-vouch'd affection 
Fallen into taint ; which to believe of her 
Must be a faith that reason without miracle 
Should never plant in me. 

Cordelia. I yet beseech your majesty, — 

If for I want that glib and oily art 

To speak and purpose not, since what I well intend 220 
I '11 do 't before I speak, — that you make known 
It is no vicious blot, nor other foulness, 
No unchaste action, or dishonour'd step, 
That hath depriv'd me of your grace and favour ; 
But even for want of that for which I am richer, — 
A still-soliciting eye, and such a tongue 



Scene I] King Lear 29 

That I am glad I have not, though not to have it 
Hath lost me in your liking. 

Lear. Better thou 

Hadst not been born than not to have pleas 'd me better. 

France. Is it but this ? a tardiness in nature, 230 

Which often leaves the history unspoke 
That it intends to do ? — My lord of Burgundy, 
What say you to the lady ? Love 's not love 
When it is mingled with regards that stands 
Aloof from the entire point. Will you have her ? 
She is herself a dowry. 

Burgundy. Royal Lear, 

Give but that portion which yourself propos'd, 
And here I take Cordelia by the hand, 
Duchess of Burgundy. 

Lear. Nothing. I have sworn ; I am firm. 240 

Burgundy. I am sorry then you have so lost a father 
That you must lose a husband. 

Cordelia. Peace be with Burgundy ! 

Since that respects of fortune are his love, 
I shall not be his wife. 

France. Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich being 
poor, 
Most choice forsaken, and most lov'd despis'd, 
Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon ; 
Be it lawful I take up what 's cast away. 
Gods, gods ! 't is strange that from their cold'st neglect 
My love should kindle to inflam'd respect. — 250 

Thy dowerless daughter, king, thrown to my chance, 



30 King Lear [Act I 

Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France. 
Not all the dukes of waterish Burgundy 
Can buy this unpriz'd precious maid of me. — 
Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind ; 
Thou losest here, a better where to find. 
f> y Lear. Thou hast her, France ; let her be thine, for 
we 
Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see 
That face of hers again. — Therefore be gone 
Without our grace, our love, our benison. — 260 

Come, noble Burgundy. 

[Flourish. Exeunt all but France, Goneril, 
Regan, and Cordelia. 

France. Bid farewell to your sisters. 

Cordelia. Ye jewels of our father, with wash'd eyes 
Cordelia leaves you. I know you what you are, 
And, like a sister, am most loath to call 
Your faults as they are nam'd. Love well our father. 
To your professed bosoms I commit him ; 
But yet, alas ! stood I within his grace, 
I would prefer him to a better place. 
So farewell to you both. • 270 

Regan. Prescribe not us our duty. 

Goneril. Let your study 

Be to content your lord, who hath receiv'd you 
At fortune's alms. You have obedience scanted, 
And well are worth the want that you have wanted. 

Cordelia. Time shall unfold what plighted cunning 
hides ; 



Scene I] King Lear 3 1 

Who cover faults, at last shame them derides. 
Well may you prosper ! 

France. Come, my fair Cordelia. 

[Exeunt France and Cordelia. 

Goneril. Sister, it is not little I have to say of 
what most nearly appertains to us both. I think our 
father will hence to-night. 280 

Regan. That 's most certain, and with you ; next 
month with us. 

Goneril. You see how full of changes his age is ; 
the observation we have made of it hath not been 
little. He always loved our sister most ; and with 
what poor judgment he hath now cast her off appears 
too grossly. 

Regan. 'T is the infirmity of his age ; yet he hath 
ever but slenderly known himself. 

Goneril. The best and soundest of his time hath 290 
been but rash ; then must we look from his age 
to receive, not alone the imperfections of long- 
ingraffed condition, but therewithal the unruly way- 
wardness that infirm and choleric years bring with 
them. 

Regan. Such unconstant starts are we like to have 
from him as this of Kent's banishment. 

Goneril. There is further compliment of leave- 
taking between France and him. Pray you, let us 
hit together ; if our father carry, authority with such 300 
disposition as he bears, this last surrender of his will 
but offend us. 



32 King Lear [Act I 

Rega7i. We shall further think of it. 

Goneril. We must do something, and i' th' heat. 

[Exeunt. 

Scene II. The Earl of Gloster's Castle 

Enter Edmund, with a letter 

Edmund. Thou, Nature, art my goddess ; to thy law 
My services are bound. Wherefore should I 
Stand in the plague of custom, and permit 
The curiosity of nations to deprive me, 
For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines 
Lag of a brother ? Why bastard ? wherefore base ? 
When my dimensions are as well compact, 
My mind as generous and my shape as true, 
As honest madam's issue ? Why brand they us 
With base ? with baseness ? bastardy ? base, base ? 10 
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land. 
Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund 
As to the legitimate ; fine word, ' legitimate ' ! 
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed 
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base 
Shall top the legitimate. I grow, I prosper ; — 
Now, gods, stand up for bastards ! 

Enter Gloster 

Gloster. Kent banish 'd thus I and France in choler 
parted ! 
And the king gone to-night ! subscrib'd his power ! 



Scene II] King Lear 23 

Confin'd to exhibition ! All this done 20 

Upon the gad ! — Edmund, how now ! what news ? 

Edmund. So please your lordship, none. 

[^Putting tip the letter. 

Gloster. Why so earnestly seek you to put up that 
letter ? 

Edmund. I know no news, my lord. 

Gloster. What paper were you reading ? 

Edmund. Nothing, my lord. 

Gloster. No ? What needed then that terrible dis- 
patch of it into your pocket ?( the quality of nothing 
hath not such need to hide itself \ Let 's see ; come, 30 
if it be nothing, I shall not need spectacles. 

Edmund. I beseech you, sir, pardon me : it is a 
letter from my brother, that I have not all o'er-read ; 
and for so much as I have perused, I find it not fit 
for your o'erlooking. 

Gloster. Give me the letter, sir. 

Edmund. I shall offend, either to detain or give it. 
The contents, as in part I understand them, are to 
blame. 

Gloster. Let 's see, let 's see. 40 

Edmund. I hope, for my brother's justification, he 
wrote this but as an essay or taste of my virtue. 

Gloster. [Reads] ' This policy and reverence of age 
makes the world bitter to the best of our times, keeps our 
fortunes from us till our oldness cannot relish them. I 
begin to find an idle and fond bondage in the oppression 
of aged tyranny, who sways, not as it hath power, but 

KING LEAR — 3 



34 King Lear [Act i 

as it is suffered. Come to me, that of this I may speak 
more. If our father would sleep till I wake him, you 
should enjoy half his revenue for ever, and live the be- 50 
loved of your brother, Edgar.' 

Hum ! — Conspiracy ! — ' Sleep till I wake him, you 
should enjoy half his revenue. ' — My son Edgar ! 
Had he a hand to write this ? a heart and brain 
to breed it in ? — When came this to you ? who 
brought it? 

Edmund. It was not brought me, my lord ; there 's 
the cunning of it. I found it thrown in at the case- 
ment of my closet. 

Gloster. You know the character to be your 60 
brother's ? 

Edmund. If the matter were good, my lord, I 
durst swear it were his ; but, in respect of that, I 
would fain think it were not. 

Gloster. It is his. 

Edmund. It is his hand, my lord, but I hope his 
heart is not in the contents. 

Gloster. Hath he never before sounded you in this 
business ? 

Edmund. Never, my lord ; but I have heard him 70 
oft maintain it to be fit that, sons at perfect age and 
fathers declined, the father should be as ward to the 
son, and the son manage his revenue. 

Gloster. O villain, villain ! His very opinion in 
the letter ! Abhorred villain ! Unnatural, detested, 
brutish villain ! worse than brutish ! — Go, sirrah, 



Scene ii] King Lear 3$ 

seek him ; I '11 apprehend him. Abominable villain ! 
Where is he ? 

Edmund. I do not well know, my lord. If it shall 
please you to suspend your indignation against my 80 
brother till you can derive from him better testimony 
of his intent, you should run a certain course ; where, 
if you violently proceed against him, mistaking his 
purpose, it would make a great gap in your own hon- 
our and shake in pieces the heart of his obedience. 
I dare pawn down my life for him that he hath writ 
this to feel my affection to your honour, and to no 
other pretence of danger. 

Gloster. Think you so ? 

Edmund. If your honour judge it meet, I will 90 
place you where you shall hear us confer of this, and 
by an auricular assurance have your satisfaction ; 
and that without any further delay than this very 
evening. 

Gloster. He cannot be such a monster — 

Edmund. Nor is not, sure. 

Gloster. To his father, that so tenderly and en- 
tirely loves him. Heaven and earth ! Edmund, seek 
him out ; wind me into him, I pray you ; frame the 
business after your own wisdom. I would unstate 100 
myself to be in a due resolution. 

Edmund. I will seek him, sir, presently, convey 
the business as I shall find means, and acquaint you 
with all. 

Gloster. These late eclipses in the sun and moon 



36 King Lear [Act I 

portend no good to us. Though the wisdom of na- 
ture can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds it- 
self scourged by the sequent effects. Love cools, 
friendship falls off, brothers divide ; in cities, muti- 
nies ; in countries, discord ; in palaces, treason'; and no 
the bond cracked 'twixt son and father. This vil- 
lain of mine comes under the prediction ; there 's 
son against father : the king falls from bias of na- 
ture ; there 's father against child. We have seen 
the best of our time ; machinations, hollowness, 
treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us dis- 
quietly to our graves. Find out this villain, Ed- 
mund ;<it shall lose thee nothing ; do it carefully. 
And the noble and true-hearted Kent banished ! his 
offence, honesty! 'T is strange. [Exit. 

Edmund, l^his is the excellent foppery of the 121 
world, /that, when we are sick in fortune — often the 
surfeit of our own behaviour — we make guilty of 
our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars : as if 
we were villains on necessity, fools by heavenly 
compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treachers, by spheri- 
cal predominance ; drunkards, liars, and adulterers, 
by an enforced obedience of planetary influence ; 
and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on. 
Edgar — 130 

Enter Edgar 

and pat he comes, like the catastrophe of the old 
comedy. My cue is villanous melancholy, with a 



Scene II] King Lear 37 

sigh like Tom o' Bedlam. O, these eclipses do por- 
tend these divisions ! fa, sol, la, mi. 

Edgar. How now, brother Edmund ! what serious 
contemplation are you in ? 

Edmund. I am thinking, brother, of a prediction I 
read this other day, what should follow these eclipses. 

Edgar. Do you busy yourself with that ? 

Edmund. I promise you, the effects he writes of 140 
succeed unhappily : as of unnaturalness between the 
child and the parent; death, dearth, dissolutions 
of ancient amities ; divisions in state, menaces and 
maledictions against king and nobles ; needless diffi- 
dences, banishment of friends, dissipation of cohorts, 
nuptial breaches, and I know not what. 

Edgar. How long have you been a sectary astro- 
nomical ? 

Edmund. Come, come ; when saw you my father 
last ? , 50 

Edgar. The night gone by. 

Edmund. Spake you with him ? 

Edgar. Ay, two hours together. 

Edmund. Parted you in good terms ? Found you 
no displeasure in him by word nor countenance ? 

Edgar. None at all. 

Edmund. Bethink yourself wherein you may have 
offended him ; and at my entreaty forbear his presence 
till some little time hath qualified the heat of his dis- 
pleasure, which at this instant so rageth in him that with 160 
the mischief of your person it would scarcely allay. 



3 8 King Lear [Act I 

Edgar. Some villain hath done me wrong. 

Edmund. That 's my fear. I pray you, have a 
continent forbearance till the speed of his rage goes 
slower ; and, as I say, retire with me to my lodging, 
from whence I will fitly bring you to hear my lord 
speak. Pray ye, go ; there 's my key ; if you do stir 
abroad, go armed. 

Edgar. Armed, brother ! 

Edmund. Brother, I advise you to the best ; go 170 
armed. I am no honest man if there be any good 
meaning toward you. I have told you what I have 
seen and heard, but faintly, nothing like the image 
and horror of it ; pray you, away. 

Edgar. Shall I hear from you anon ? 

Edmund. I do serve you in this business. — 

\_Exit Edgar. 
A credulous father, and a brother noble, 
Whose nature is so far from doing harms 
That he suspects none ; on whose foolish honesty 
My practices ride easy. I see the business. 180 

Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit ; 
All with me 's meet that I can fashion fit. [Exit. 

Scene III. The Duke of Albany^s Palace 

Enter Goneril a7id Oswald, her steward 

Goneril. Did my father strike my gentleman for 
chiding of his fool? 
Oswald. Ay, madam. 



Scene ill] King Lear 39 

Goneril. By day and night he wrongs me; every 
hour 
He flashes into one gross crime or other 
That sets us all at odds. I '11 not endure it. 
His knights grow riotous, and himself upbraids us 
On every trifle. When he returns from hunting 
I will not speak with him ; say I am sick. 
If you come slack of former services, 10 

You shall do well ; the fault of it I '11 answer. 

Oswald, He 's coming, madam ; I hear him. 

[Horns within. 

Goneril. Put on what weary negligence you please, 
You and your fellows ; I 'd have it come to question. 
If he distaste it, let him to my sister, 
Whose mind and mine, I know, in that are one, 
Not to be over-rul'd. Idle old man, 
That still would manage those authorities 
That he hath given away ! Now, by my life, 
Old fools are babes again, and must be us'd 20 

With checks as flatteries, when they are seen abus'd. 
Remember what I have said. 

Oswald. Well, madam. 

Goneril. And let his knights have colder looks 
among you. 
What grows of it, no matter ; advise your fellows so. 
I would breed from hence occasions, and I shall, 
That I may speak. I '11 write straight to my sister 
To hold my very course. Prepare for dinner. 

\Exeunt. 



40 King Lear [Act I 

Scene IV. A Hall in the Same 

Enter Kent, disguised 

Kent. If but as well I other accents borrow, 
That can my speech diffuse, my good intent 
May carry through itself to that full issue 
For which I raz'd my likeness. Now, banish'd 

Kent, 
If thou canst serve where thou dost stand con- 

demn'd, 
So may it come, thy master, whom thou lov'st, 
Shall find thee full of labours. 

Horns within. Enter Lear, Knights, and Attendants 

Lear. Let me not stay a jot for dinner ; go get it 
ready. — [Exit an Attendant^] How now ! what art 
thou ? io 

Kent. A man, sir. 

Lear. What dost thou profess ? what wouldst thou 
with us ? 

Kent. I do profess to be no less than I seem ; to 
serve him truly that will put me in trust ; to love 
him that is honest ; to converse with him that is wise 
and says little ; to fear judgment ; to fight when I 
cannot choose ; and to eat no fish. 

Lear. What art thou ? 

Kent. A very honest-hearted fellow, and as poor 20 
as the king. 



Scene IV] King Lear 41 

Lear. If thou be'st as poor for a subject as he is 
for a king, thou art poor enough. What wouldst thou ? 

Kent. Service. 

Lear. Who wouldst thou serve ? 

Kent. You. 

Lear. Dost thou know me, fellow ? 

Kent. No, sir ; but you have that in your counte- 
nance which I would fain call master. 

Lear. What 's that ? 30 

Kent. Authority. 

Lear. What services canst thou do ? 

Kent. I can keep honest counsel, ride, run, mar a 
curious tale in telling it, and deliver a plain message 
bluntly; that which ordinary men are fit for, I am 
qualified in, and the best of me is diligence. 

Lear. How old art thou ? 

Kent. Not so young, sir, to love a woman for sing- 
ing, nor so old to dote on her for any thing ; I have 
years on my back forty-eight. 40 

Lear. Follow me ; thou shalt serve me. If I like 
thee no worse after dinner, I will not part from thee 
yet. — Dinner, ho, dinner ! Where 's my knave ? 
my fool? — Go you, and call my fool hither. — 

\_Exit an Atte7idant. 

Enter Oswald 

You, you, sirrah, where 's my daughter ? 

Oswald. So please you, — [Exit. 

Lear. What says the fellow there ? Call the clot- 



42 King Lear [Act i 

poll' back. — [Exit a Knight I\ Where 's my fool, ho ? 
I think the world 's asleep. — \Re-enter Knight. ~\ How 
now ! where 's that mongrel ? 50 

Knight. He says, my lord, your daughter is not 
well. 

Lear. Why came not the slave back to me when I 
called him? 

Knight. Sir, he answered me in the roundest man- 
ner, he would not. 

Lear. He would not ! 

Knight. My lord, I know not what the matter is ; 
but, to my judgment, your highness is not enter- 
tained with that ceremonious affection as you were 60 
wont. There 's a great abatement of kindness ap- 
pears as well in the general dependants as in the 
duke himself also and your daughter. 

Lear. Ha ! sayest thou so ? 

Knight. I beseech you, pardon me, my lord, if I 
be mistaken ; for my duty cannot be silent when I 
think your highness wronged. 

Lear. Thou but rememberest me of mine own 
conception. I have perceived a most faint neglect 
of late, which I have rather blamed as mine own 70 
jealous curiosity than as a very pretence and purpose 
of unkindness. I will look further into 't. But 
where 's my fool ? I have not seen him this two 
days. 

Knight. Since my young lady 's going into France, 
sir, the fool hath much pined away. 



Scene IV] King Lear 43 

Lear. No more of that ; I have noted it well. — 
Go you, and tell my daughter I would speak with 
her. — [Exit an Attendant^ Go you, call hither my 
fool. — [Exit an Attendant. 

Re-enter Oswald 

O, you sir, you, come you hither, sir. Who am I, sir ? 81 

Oswald. My lady's father. 

Lear. My lady's father ! my lord's knave. You 
whoreson dog ! you slave ! you cur ! 

Oswald. I am none of these, my lord ; I beseech 
your pardon. 

Lear. Do you bandy looks with me, you rascal ? 

\_Str iking him. 

Oswald. I '11 not be strucken, my lord. 

Kent. Nor tripped neither, you base foot-ball 
player. [Tripping up his heels. 

Lear. I thank thee, fellow ; thou servest me, and 91 
I '11 love thee. 

Kent. Come, sir, arise, away ! I '11 teach you dif- 
ferences ; away, away ! If you will measure your lub- 
ber's length again, tarry ; but away ! Go to ; have 
you wisdom ? so. [Pushes Oswald out, 

Lear. Now, my friendly knave, I thank thee. 
There 's earnest of thy service. 

Enter Fool 

Fool. Let me hire him too. — Here 's my cox- 
comb. 100 



44 King Lear [Act I 

Lear. How now, my pretty knave ! how dost thou ? 
Fool. Sirrah, you were best take my coxcomb. 
Kent. Why, fool ? 

Fool. Why? for taking one's part that 's out 
of favour. Nay, an thou canst not smile as the 
wind sits, thou 'It catch cold shortly. There, take 
my coxcomb. Why, this fellow has banished two 
on 's daughters, and did the third a blessing against 
his will ; if thou follow him, thou must needs wear 
my coxcomb. — How now, nuncle ! Would I had no 
two coxcombs and two daughters ! 
Lear. Why, my boy ? 

Fool. If I gave them all my living, I 'd keep 
my coxcombs myself. There 's mine ; beg another 
of thy daughters. 

Lear. Take heed, sirrah ; the whip. 
Fool. Truth 's a dog must to kennel; he must 
be whipped out, when Lady the brach may stand 
by the fire and stink. 

Lear. A pestilent gall to me ! 120 

Fool. Sirrah, I '11 teach thee a speech. 

Lear. Do. 

Fool. Mark it, nuncle : 

Have more than thou showest, 
Speak less than thou knowest, 
Lend less than thou owest, 
Ride more than thou goest, 
Learn more than thou trowest, 
Set less than thou throwest ; 



Scene IV] King Lear 45 

And thou shalt have more 130 

Than two tens to a score. 
Kent. This is nothing, fool. 

Fool. Then 't is like the breath of an unfee'd 
lawyer ; you gave me nothing for 't. — Can you make 
no use of nothing, nuncle ? 

Lea?\ Why, no, boy ; nothing can be made out 
of nothing. 

Fool. [To Kent] Prithee, tell him, so much the 
rent of his land comes to ; he will not believe a fool. 
Lear. A bitter fool ! 140 

Fool. Dost thou know the difference, my boy, 
between a bitter fool and a sweet fool ? 
Lear. No, lad ; teach me. 
Fool. That lord that counsell'd thee 

To give away thy land, 
Come place him here by me, 

Do thou for him stand : 
The sweet and bitter fool 
Will presently appear ; 
The one in motley here, 150 

The other found out there. 
Lear. Dost thou call me fool, boy ? 
Fool. All thy other titles thou hast given away; 
that thou wast born with. 

Kent. This is not altogether fool, my lord. 
Fool. No, faith, lords and great men will not let 
me. If I had a monopoly out, they would have 
part on 't ; and ladies too, they will not let me have 



46 King Lear [Act 1 

all the fool to myself ; they '11 be snatching. Nuncle, 
give me an egg, and I '11 give thee two crowns. 160 

Lear. What two crowns shall they be ? 
Fool. Why, after I have cut the egg i' the middle 
and eat up the meat, the two crowns of the egg. 
When thou clovest thy crown i' the middle, and 
gav'st away both parts, thou borest thy ass on thy 
back o'er the dirt ; thou hadst little wit in thy bald 
crown when thou gav'st thy golden one away. If I 
speak like myself in this, let him be whipped that 
first finds it so. 

[Sings] Fools had ne'er less grace in a year ; 170 

For wise men are grown foppish, 
And know not ho7v their wits to wear, 
Their manners are so apish. 
Lear. When were you wont to be so full of songs, 
sirrah ? 

Fool. I have used it, nuncle, e'er since thou mad- 
est thy daughters thy mothers ; for when thou gav'st 
them the rod, and put'st down thine own breeches, 
[Sings] Then they for sudden joy did weep, 

And Lfor sorrow sung, 180 

That such a king should play bo-peep, 
A7id go the fools among. 
Prithee, nuncle, keep a schoolmaster that can teach 
thy fool to lie. I would fain learn to lie. 

Lear. An you lie, sirrah, we '11 have you whipped. 

Fool. I marvel what kin thou and thy daughters 

are ; they '11 have me whipped for speaking true, 



Scene IV] King Lear 47 

thou 'It have me whipped for lying, and sometimes 

I am whipped for holding my peace. I had rather 

be any kind o' thing than a fool : and yet I would 190 

not be thee, nuncle; thou hast pared thy wit o' both 

sides, and left nothing i' the middle. Here comes 

one o' the parings. 

Enter Goneril 

Lear. How now, daughter ! what makes that 
frontlet on ? Methinks you are too much of late i' 
the frown. 

Fool. Thou wast a pretty fellow when thou hadst 
no need to care for her frowning ; now thou art an 

without a figure. I am better than thou art now ; 

1 am a fool, thou art nothing. — [To Goneril'] Yes, 200 
forsooth, I will hold my tongue ; so your face bids 
me, though you say nothing. Mum, mum ; 

He that keeps nor crust 7ior crum, 
Weary of all, shall want some. — 
That 's a shealed peascod. 

Goneril. Not only, sir, this your all-licens'd fool, 
But other of your insolent retinue 
Do hourly carp and quarrel, breaking forth 
In rank and not-to-be-endured riots. Sir, 
I had thought, by making this well known unto you, 210 
To have found a safe redress, but now grow fearful, 
By what yourself too late have spoke and done, 
That you protect this course, and put it on 
By your allowance ; which if you should, the fault 
Would not scape censure, nor the redresses sleep, 



48 King Lear [Act I 

Which, in the tender of a wholesome weal, 
Might in their working do you that offence, 
Which else were shame, that then necessity 
Will call discreet proceeding. 

Fool. For, you know, nuncle, 220 

The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long, 
That it J s had it head bit off by it young. 
So out went the candle, and we were left darkling. 

Lear. Are you our daughter ? 

Goneril. Come, sir, 
I would you would make use of that good wisdom 
Whereof I know you are fraught, and put away 
These dispositions which of late transport you 
From what you rightly are. 

Fool. May not an ass know when the cart draws 230 
the horse ? Whoop, Jug ! I love thee. 

Lear. Does any here know me ? This is not Lear. 
Does Lear walk thus ? speak thus ? Where are his 

eyes? 
Either his notion weakens, his discernings 
Are lethargied — Ha ! waking ? 't is not so. 
Who is it that can tell me who I am ? 

Fool. Lear's shadow. 

Lear. I would learn that ; for, by the marks of 
sovereignty, knowledge, and reason, I should be false 
persuaded I had daughters. 240 

Fool. Which they will make an obedient father. 

Lear. Your name, fair gentlewoman ? 

Goneril. This admiration, sir, is much o' the savour 



Scene IV] King Lear 49 

Of other your new pranks. I do beseech you 

To understand my purposes aright ; 

As you are old and reverend, you should be wise. 

Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires ; 

Men so disorder'd, so debosh'd and bold, 

That this our court, infected with their manners, 

Shows like a riotous inn ; epicurism and lust 250 

Makes it more like a tavern or a brothel 

Than a grac'd palace. The shame itself doth speak 

For instant remedy. Be then desir'd 

By her that else will take the thing she begs, 

A little to disquantity your train ; 

And the remainder, that shall still depend, 

To be such men as may besort your age, 

Which know themselves and you. 

Lear. Darkness and devils ! — 

Saddle my horses ! call my train together ! — 
Degenerate bastard ! I '11 not trouble thee. 260 

Yet have I left a daughter. 

Goneril. You strike my people, and your disorder'd 
rabble 
Make servants of their betters. 

Enter Albany 

Lear. Woe, that too late repents. — O, sir, are you 
come ? 
Is it your will ? Speak, sir. — Prepare my horses. — 
Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend, 

KING LEAR — 4 



50 King Lear [Act I 

More hideous when thou show'st thee in a child 
Than the sea-monster ! 

Albany. Pray, sir, be patient. 

Lear. Detested kite ! thou liest ; 
My train are men of choice and rarest parts, 270 

That all particulars of duty know, 
And in the most exact regard support 
The worships of their name. — O most small fault, 
How ugly didst thou in Cordelia show ! 
Which, like an engine, wrench'd my frame of nature 
From the fix'd place, drew from my heart all love, 
And added to the gall. O Lear, Lear, Lear ! 
Beat at this gate, that let thy folly in, [Striking his head. 
And thy dear judgment out ! — Go, go, my people. 

Albany. My lord, I am guiltless, as I am ignorant 
Of what hath mov'd you. 

Lear. It may be so, my lord. — 281 

Hear, Nature, hear ; dear goddess, hear ! 
Suspend thy purpose, if thou didst intend 
To make this creature fruitful ; 
Into her womb convey sterility ; 
Dry up in her the organs of increase, 
And from her derogate body never spring 
A babe to honour her ! If she must teem, 
Create her child of spleen, that it may live 
And be a thwart disnatur'd torment to her ! 290 

Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth, 
With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks, 
Turn all her mother's pains and benefits 



Scene IV] King Lear 51 

To laughter and contempt ; that she may feel 

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is 

To have a thankless child ! — Away, away 1 [Exit. 

Albany. Now, gods that we adore, whereof comes this ? 

Goneril. Never afflict yourself to know the cause, 
But let his disposition have that scope 
That dotage gives it. 300 

Re-enter Lear 

Lear. What, fifty of my followers at a clap ! 
Within a fortnight ! 

Albany. What 's the matter, sir ? 

Lear. I '11 tell thee. — Life and death ! I am asham'd 
That thou hast power to shake my manhood thus ; 
That these hot tears, which break from me perforce, 
Should make thee worth them. Blasts and fogs upon theel 
Th' untented woun dings of a father's curse 
Pierce every sense about thee ! — Old fond eyes, 
Beweep this cause again, I '11 pluck ye out, 
And cast you, with the waters that you lose, 310 

To temper clay. — Ha ! is it come to this ? 
Let it be so. I have another daughter, 
Who, I am sure, is kind and comfortable. 
When she shall hear this of thee, with her nails 
She '11 flay thy wolvish visage. Thou shalt find 
That I '11 resume the shape which thou dost think 
I have cast off for ever ; thou shalt, I warrant thee. 

[Exeunt Lear, Kent, and Attendants. 

Goneril. Do you mark that, my lord ? 



£2 King Lear [Act I 

Albany. I cannot be so partial, Goneril, 
To the great love I bear you, — 320 

Goneril. Pray you, content. — What, Oswald, ho ! — 
You, sir, more knave than fool, after your master. 

Fool. N uncle Lear, nuncle Lear, tarry; take the 
fool with thee. — 

A fox, when one has caught her, 
And such a daughter, 
Should sure to the slaughter, 
If my cap would buy a halter. 
So the fool follows after. [Exit. 

Goneril. This man hath had good council ! A hun- 
dred knights ! 330 
'T is politic and safe to let him keep 
At point a hundred knights ; yes, that, on every dream, 
Each buzz, each fancy, each complaint, dislike, 
He may enguard his dotage with their powers, 
And hold our lives in mercy. — Oswald, I say ! 
Albany. Well, you may fear too far. 
Goneril. Safer than trust too far. 
Let me still take away the harms I fear, 
Not fear still to be taken. I know his heart. 
What he hath utter 'd I have writ my sister ; 
If she sustain him and his hundred knights, 340 
When I have show'd the unfitness, — 

Re-enter Oswald 

How now, Oswald ! 
What, have you writ that letter to my sister? 



Scene V] King Lear $3 

Oswald. Ay, madam. 

Goneril. Take you some company, and away to horse ; 
Inform her full of my particular fear, 
And thereto add such reasons of your own 
As may compact it more. Get you gone ; 
And hasten your return. — [Exit Oswald.~\ No, no, my 

lord, 
This milky gentleness and course of yours 
Though I condemn not, yet, under pardon, 350 

You are much more at task for want of wisdom 
Than prais'd for harmful mildness. 

Albany. How far your eyes may pierce I cannot tell ; 
Striving to better, oft we mar what 's well. 

Goneril. Nay, then — 

Albany. Well, well ; the event. [Exeunt. 

Scene V. Court before the Same 
Enter Lear, Kent, and Fool. 

Lear. Go you before to Gloster with these letters. 
Acquaint my daughter no further with any thing you 
know than comes from her demand out of the letter. 
If your diligence be not speedy, I shall be there afore 
you. 

Kent. I will not sleep, my lord, till I have de- 
livered your letter. [Exit. 

Eool. If a man's brains were in 's heels, were 't 
not in danger of kibes ? 

Lear. Ay, boy. 10 



54 King Lear [Act i 

Fool. Then, I prithee, be merry ; thy wit shall 
ne'er go slipshod. 

Lear. Ha, ha, ha ! 

Fool. Shalt see thy other daughter will use thee 
kindly ; for though she 's as like this as a crab 's like 
an apple, yet I can tell what I can tell. 

Lear. What canst tell, boy ? 

Fool. She will taste as like this as a crab does to 
a crab. Thou canst tell why one's nose stands i' the 
middle on 's face ? 20 

Lear. No. 

Fool. Why, to keep one's eyes of either side 's 
nose, that what a man cannot smell out, he may spy 
into. 

Lear. I did her wrong — 

Fool. Canst tell how an oyster makes his shell ? 

Lear. No. 

Fool. Nor I neither ; but I can tell why a snail 
has a house. 

Lear. Why ? 30 

Fool. Why, to put 's head in ; not to give it away 
to his daughters, and leave his horns without a case. 

Lear. I will forget my nature. So kind a father ! 
— Be my horses ready ? 

Fool. Thy asses are gone about 'em. The reason 
why the seven stars are no moe than seven is a 
pretty reason. 

Lear. Because they are not eight ? 

Fool. Yes, indeed ; thou wouldst make a good fool. 



Scene V] King Lear $$ 

Lear. To take 't again perforce ! Monster in- 40 
gratitude ! 

Fool. If thou wert my fool, nuncle, I 'd have thee 
beaten for being old before thy time. 

Lear. How 's that ? 

Fool. Thou shouldst not have been old till thou 
hadst been wise. 

Lear. O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven ! 
Keep me in temper ; I would not be mad ! — 

Enter Gentleman 

How now ! are the horses ready ? 

Gentleman. Ready, my lord. 50 

Lear. Come, boy. [Exeunt. 




" I HEARD MYSELF PROCLAIM'D " 



ACT II 



Scene I. The Earl of Glo sterns Castle 

Enter Edmund and Curan, meeting 

Edmund. Save thee, Curan. 

Curan. And you, sir. I have been with your 
father, and given him notice that the Duke of Corn- 
wall and Regan his duchess will be here with him 
this night. 

Edmund. How comes that ? 

56 



Scene I] King Lear 57 

Curan. Nay, I know not. You have heard of the 
news abroad ; I mean the whispered ones, for they 
are yet but ear-kissing arguments ? 

Edmund. Not I ; pray you, what are they ? 10 

Curan. Have you heard of no likely wars toward, 
'twixt the Dukes of Cornwall and Albany ? 

Edmund. Not a word. 

Curan. You may do then in time. Fare you well, sir. 

[Exit. 

Edmund. The duke be here to-night ? The better ! 
best! 
This weaves itself perforce into my business. 
My father hath set guard to take my brother ; 
And I have one thing, of a queasy question, 
Which I must act. Briefness and fortune, work ! — 
Brother, a word ; descend ! Brother, I say ! 20 

Enter Edgar 

My father watches ! O sir, fly this place ! 
Intelligence is given where you are hid ; 
You have now the good advantage of the night. 
Have you not spoken 'gainst the Duke of Cornwall ? 
He 's coming hither, now, i' the night, i' the haste, 
And Regan with him ; have you nothing said 
Upon his party 'gainst the Duke of Albany ? 
Advise yourself. 

Edgar. I am sure on 't,not a word. 

Edmund. I hear my father coming. Pardon me ; 
In cunning I must draw my sword upon you. 30 



58 King Lear [Act II 

Draw ; seem to defend yourself ; now quit you well. 
Yield ! come before my father ! — Light, ho, here ! — 
Fly, brother ! Torches, torches ! — So, farewell. 

[Exit Edgar. 
Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion 
Of my more fierce endeavour. I have seen drunkards 
Do more than this in sport. — Father, father ! — 
Stop, stop 1 — No help ? 

Enter Gloster, and Servants with torches 

Gloster. Now, Edmund, where 's the villain ? 
Edmund. Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword 
out, 
Mumbling of wicked charms, conjuring the moon 40 
To stand auspicious mistress. 

Gloster. But where is he ? 

Edmund. Look, sir, I bleed. 

Gloster. Where is the villain, Edmund ? 

Ed?nund. Fled this way, sir, when by no means he 

could — 
Gloster. Pursue him, ho ! Go after. — [Exeunt some' 

Servants^ By no means what ? 
Edmund. Persuade me to the murther of your lord- 
ship ; 
But that I told him the revenging gods 
'Gainst parricides did all the thunder bend, 
Spoke with how manifold and strong a bond 
The child was bound to the father ; — sir, in fine, 50 



Scene I] King Lear 59 

Seeing how loathly opposite I stood 

To this unnatural purpose, in fell motion 

With his prepared sword he charges home 

My unprovided body, lanc'd mine arm. 

But when he saw my best alarum'd spirits 

Bold in the quarrel's right, rous'd to the encounter, 

Or whether gasted by the noise I made, 

Full suddenly he fled. 

Gloster. Let him fly far. 

Not in this land shall he remain uncaught ; 
And found — dispatch. The noble duke my master, 
My worthy arch and patron, comes to-night. 61 

By his authority I will proclaim it 
That he which finds him shall deserve our thanks, 
Bringing the murtherous coward to the stake ; 
He that conceals him, death. 

Edmund. When I dissuaded him from his intent, 
And found him pight to do it, with curst speech 
I threaten 'd to discover him ; he replied : 
' Thou unpossessing bastard ! dost thou think, 
If I would stand against thee, would the reposal 70 

Of any trust, virtue, or worth in thee 
Make thy words faith'd ? No ; what I should 

deny — 
As this I would, — ay, though thou didst produce 
My very character — I 'd turn it all 
To thy suggestion, plot, and damned practice ; 
And thou must make a dullard of the world, 
If they not thought the profits of my death 



6o King Lear [Act II 

Were very pregnant and potential spurs 
To make thee seek it.' 

Gloster. Strong and fasten 'd villain ! 

Would he deny his letter ? I never got him. — 80 

\Tucket within. 
Hark, the duke's trumpets ! I know not why he comes. 
All ports I '11 bar, the villain shall not scape ; 
The duke must grant me that. Besides, his picture 
I will send far and near, that all the kingdom 
May have due note of him ; and of my land, 
Loyal and natural boy, I '11 work the means 
To make thee capable. 

Enter Cornwall, Regan, and Attendants 

Cornwall. How now, my noble friend ! since I came 
hither, 
Which I can call but now, I have heard strange news. 

Regan. If it be true, all vengeance comes too short 90 
Which can pursue the offender. How dost, my lord ? 

Gloster. O, madam, my old heart is crack'd, — it 's 
crack'd ! 

Regan. What, did my father's godson seek your life ? 
He whom my father nam'd ? your Edgar ? 

Gloster. O, lady, lady, shame would have it hid ! 

Regan. Was he not companion with the riotous 
knights 
That tend upon my father ? 

Gloster. I know not, madam. — 'T is too bad, too bad. 

Edmund. Yes, madam, he was of that consort. 



Scene I] King Lear 61 

Regan. No marvel then, though he were ill affected ; 
'T is they have put him on the old man's death, 101 
To have th' expense and waste of his revenues. 
I have this present evening from my sister 
Been well inform'd of them, and with such cautions 
That if they come to sojourn at my house, 
I '11 not be there. 

Cornwall. Nor I, assure thee, Regan. — 

Edmund, I hear that you have shown your father 
A child-like office. 

Edmund. 'T was my duty, sir. 

Gloster. He did bewray his practice, and receiv'd 
This hurt you see, striving to apprehend him. no 

Cornwall. Is he pursued ? 

Gloster. Ay, my good lord. 

Cornwall. If he be taken, he shall never more 
Be fear'd of doing harm ; make your own purpose, 
How in my strength you please. — For you, Edmund, 
Whose virtue and obedience doth this instant 
So much commend itself, you shall be ours. 
Natures of such deep trust we shall much need ; 
You we first seize on. 

Edmund. I shall serve you, sir, 

Truly, however else. 

Gloster. For him I thank your grace. 

Cornwall. You know not why we came to visit you ? 

Regan. Thus, out of season, threading dark-eyed 
night ; 121 

Occasions, noble Gloster, of some poise, 



62 King Lear [Act n 

Wherein we must have use of your advice. 

Our father he hath writ, so hath our sister, 

Of differences which I best thought it fit 

To answer from our home ; the several messengers 

From hence attend dispatch. Our good old friend, 

Lay comforts to your bosom, and bestow 

Your needful counsel to our businesses, 

Which craves the instant use. 

Gloster. I serve you, madam. — 

Your graces are right welcome. [Flourish. Exeunt. 

Scene II. Before Gloster's Castle 
Enter Kent and Oswald, severally 

Oswald. Good dawning to thee, friend ; art of this 
house ? 

Kent. Ay. 

Oswald. Where may we set our horses ? 

Ke?it. V the mire. 

Oswald. Prithee, if thou lov'st me, tell me. 

Kent. I love thee not. 

Oswald. Why then I care not for thee. 

Kent. If I had thee in Lipsbury pinfold, I would 
make thee care for me. 10 

Oswald. Why dost thou use me thus ? I know 
thee not. 

Kent. Fellow, I know thee. 

Oswald. What dost thou know me for ? 

Kent. A knave ; a rascal ; an eater of broken 



Scene ii] King Lear 63 

meats ; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, 
hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave ; a lily- 
livered, action-taking, whoreson, glass-gazing, super- 
serviceable, finical rogue ; one-trunk-inheriting slave ; 
one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service, 20 
and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beg- 
gar, coward, pandar, and the son and heir of a mon- 
grel bitch ; one whom I will beat into clamorous 
whining, if thou deniest the least syllable of thy 
addition. 

Oswald. Why, what a monstrous fellow art thou, 
thus to rail on one that is neither known of thee nor 
knows thee ! 

Kent. What a brazen-faced varlet art thou, to deny 
thou knowest me ! Is it two days ago since I tripped 30 
up thy heels, and beat thee before the king ? Draw, 
you rogue ! for, though it be night, yet the moon 
shines. I '11 make a sop o' the moonshine of you ; 
you whoreson cullionly barber-monger, draw. 

Oswald. Away ! I have nothing to do with thee. 

Kent. Draw, you rascal ! You come with letters 
against the king, and take Vanity the puppet's part 
against the royalty of her father. Draw, you rogue, 
or I '11 so carbonado your shanks ! draw, you rascal ! 
come your ways ! 40 

Oswald. Help, ho ! murther ! help ! 

Kent. Strike, you slave ! stand, rogue, stand ! you 
neat slave, strike ! \B eating him. 

Oswald. Help, ho ! murther ! murther ! 



64 King Lear [Act 11 

Enter Edmund, with his rapier drawn 

Edmund. How now ! What 's the matter ? 

[Parting them. 
Kent. With you, goodman boy, if you please ; 
come, I '11 flesh ye ! Come on, young master ! 

Enter Cornwall, Regan, Gloster, and Servants 

Gloster. Weapons ; arms ! What 's the matter here ? 

Cornwall. Keep peace, upon your lives ! 
He dies that strikes again ! What is the matter ? 50 

Regan. The messengers from our sister and the king ? 

Cornwall. What is your difference? speak. 

Oswald. I am scarce in breath, my lord. 

Kent. No marvel, you have so bestirred your valour. 
You cowardly rascal, nature disclaims in thee ; a 
tailor made thee. 

Cornwall. Thou art a strange fellow ; a tailor make 
a man ? 

Kent. Ay, a tailor, sir ; a stone-cutter or a painter 
could not have made him so ill, though they had 60 
been but two hours o' the trade. 

Cornwall. Speak yet, how grew your quarrel ? 

Oswald. This ancient ruffian, sir, whose life I 
have spared at suit of his grey beard, — 

Kent. Thou whoreson zed ! thou unnecessary let- 
ter ! — My lord, if you will give me leave, I will tread 
this unbolted villain into mortar, and daub the wall 



Scene II] King Lear 6$ 

of a jakes with him. — Spare my grey beard, you 
wagtail ? 

Cornwall. Peace, sirrah ! — 70 

You beastly knave, know you no reverence ? 

Kent. Yes, sir ; but anger hath a privilege. 

Co7'nwall. Why art thou angry ? 

Kent. That such a slave as this should wear a sword, 
Who wears no honesty. Such smiling rogues as these, 
Like rats, oft bite the holy cords a-twain 
Which are too intrinse t' unloose ; smooth every passion 
That in the natures of their lords rebel, 
Being oil to fire, snow to the colder moods ; 
Renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks 80 

With every gale and vary of their masters, 
Knowing nought, like dogs, but following. — 
A plague upon your epileptic visage ! 
Smile you my speeches, as I were a fool ? 
Goose, if I had you upon Sarum plain, 
I 'd drive ye cackling home to Camelot. 

Cornwall. What, art thou mad, old fellow ? 

Gloster. How fell you out ? say that. 

Kent. No contraries hold more antipathy 
Than I and such a knave. 90 

Cornwall. Why dost thou call him knave ? What 
is his fault ? 

Kent. His countenance likes me not. 

Cornwall. No more, perchance, does mine, nor his, 
nor hers. 

Kent. Sir, 't is my occupation to be plain ; 

KING LEAR — 5 



66 King Lear [Act n 

I have seen better faces in my time 
Than stands on any shoulder that I see 
Before me at this instant. 

Cornwall. This is some fellow 

Who, having been prais'd for bluntness, doth affect 
A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb 
Quite from his nature ; he cannot natter, he, — ioo 

An honest mind and plain, — he must speak truth ! 
An they will take it, so ; if not, he 's plain. 
These kind of knaves I know, which in this plain- 
ness 
Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends 
Than twenty silly-ducking observants 
That stretch their duties nicely. 

Kent. Sir, in good sooth, in sincere verity, 
Under the allowance of your great aspect, 
Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire 
On flickering. Phoebus' front, — 

Cornwall. What mean'st by this ? 

Kent. To go out of my dialect, which you discom- m 
mend so much. I know, sir, I am no flatterer ; he 
that beguiled you in a plain accent was a plain knave, 
which for my part I will not be, though I should win 
your displeasure to entreat me to 't. 

Cornwall. What was the offence you gave him ? 

Oswald. I never gave him any. 
It pleas 'd the king his master very late 
To strike at me, upon his misconstruction ; 
When he, compact, and flattering his displeasure, 120 



Scene II] King Lear 67 

Tripp'd me behind ; being down, insulted, rail'd, 
And put upon him such a deal of man 
That worthied him, got praises of the king 
For him attempting who was self-subdued ; 
And in the neshment of this dread exploit 
Drew on me here again. 

Kent. None of these rogues and cowards 

But Ajax is their fool. 

Cornwall. Fetch forth the stocks ! — 

You stubborn ancient knave, you reverend braggart, 
We '11 teach you — 

Kent. Sir, I am too old to learn ; 

Call not your stocks for me. I serve the king, 130 

On whose employment I was sent to you. 
You shall do small respect, show too bold malice 
Against the grace and person of my master, 
Stocking his messenger. 

Cornwall. Fetch forth the stocks ! As I have life 
and honour, 
There shall he sit till noon. 

Regan. Till noon ! till night, my lord ; and all 
night too. 

Kent. Why, madam, if I were your father's dog, 
You should not use me so. 

Regan. Sir, being his knave, I will. 

Cornwall. This is a fellow of the self-same colour 140 
Our sister speaks of. — Come, bring away the stocks ! 

[Stocks brought out. 

Gloster. Let me beseech your grace not to do so. 



68 King Lear [Act n 

His fault is much, and the good king his master 
Will check him for 't ; your purpos'd low correction 
Is such as basest and contemned 'st wretches 
For pilferings and most common trespasses 
Are punish 'd with. The king must take it ill 
That he, so slightly valued in his messenger, 
Should have him thus restrain'd. 

Cornwall. I '11 answer that. 

Regan. My sister may receive it much more worse 150 
To have her gentleman abus'd, assaulted, 
For following her affairs. — Put in his legs. — 

[Kent is put in the stocks. 
Come, my lord, away. \_Exeunt all but Gloster and Kent. 

Gloster. I am sorry for thee, friend ; 't is the duke's 
pleasure, 
Whose disposition, all the world well knows, 
Will not be rubb'd nor stopp'd. I '11 entreat for thee. 

Kent. Pray, do not, sir. I have watch 'd and 
travell'd hard ; 
Some time I shall sleep out, the rest I '11 whistle. 
A good man's fortune may grow out at heels. 
Give you good morrow ! 160 

Gloster. [Aside] The duke 's to blame in this ; 't will 
be ill taken. [Exit. 

Kent. Good king, that must approve the common 
saw, 
Thou out of heaven's benediction comest 
To the warm sun ! — 
Approach, thou beacon to this under globe, 



Scene III] King Lear 69 

That by thy comfortable beams I may 
Peruse this letter ! Nothing almost sees miracles 
But misery. I know 't is from Cordelia, 
Who hath most fortunately been inform 'd 
Of my obscured course ; and shall find time 170 

From this enormous state, seeking to give 
Losses their remedies. All weary and o'er-watch'd, 
Take vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold 
This shameful lodging. 

Fortune, good night ; smile once more, turn thy wheel ! 

[Sleeps. 

Scene III. A Part of the Heath 

Enter Edgar 

Edgar. I heard myself proclaim'd, 
And by the happy hollow of a tree 
Escap'd the hunt. No port is free ; no place, 
That guard and most unusual vigilance 
Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may scape 
I will preserve myself, and am bethought 
To take the basest and most poorest shape 
That ever penury, in contempt of man, 
Brought near to beast ; my face I '11 grime with filth, 
Blanket my loins, elf all my hair in knots, 10 

And with presented nakedness outface 
The winds and persecutions of the sky. 
The country gives me proof and precedent 
Of Bedlam beggars, who with roaring voices 



70 King Lear [Act n 

Strike in their numb'd and mortified bare arms 
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary ; 
And with this horrible object, from low farms, 
Poor pelting villages, sheepcotes and mills, 
Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers, 
Enforce their charity. Poor Turlygod ! poor Tom ! 20 
That 's something yet ; Edgar I nothing am. [Exit. 

Scene IV. Before Gloster's Castle 
Kent in the Stocks. Enter Lear, Fool, and Gentleman 

Lear. 'T is strange that they should so depart from 
home, 
And not send back my messenger. 

Gentleman. As I learn 'd, 

The night before there was no purpose in them 
Of this remove. 

Kent. Hail to thee, noble master ! 

Lear. Ha ! 
Mak'st thou this shame thy pastime ? 

Kent. No, my lord. 

Eool. Ha, ha ! he wears cruel garters. Horses 
are tied by the heads, dogs and bears by the neck, 
monkeys by the loins, and men by the legs ; when a 
man 's over-lusty at legs, then he wears wooden 10 
nether-stocks. 

Lear. What 's he that hath so much thy place mis- 
took 
To set thee here ? 



Scene IV] King Lear 71 

Kent. It is both he and she, 

Your son and daughter. 

Lear. No. 

Kent. Yes. 

Lear. No, I say. 

Kent. I say, yea. 

Lear. No, no, they would not. 

Kent. Yes, they have. 20 

Lear. By Jupiter, I swear, no ! 

Kent. By Juno, I swear, ay ! 

Lear. They durst not do 't ; 

They could not, would not do 't ; 't is worse than 

murther 
To do upon respect such violent outrage. 
Resolve me with all modest haste which way 
Thou mightest deserve, or they impose, this usage, 
Coming from us. 

Kent. My lord, when at their home 

I did commend your highness' letters to them, 
Ere I was risen from the place that show'd 
My duty kneeling, came there a reeking post, 30 

Stew'd in his haste, half breathless, panting forth ' 
From Goneril his mistress salutations, 
Deliver'd letters, spite of intermission, 
Which presently they read ; on whose contents 
They summoned up their meiny, straight took horse, 
Commanded me to follow and attend 
The leisure of their answer, gave me cold looks ; 
And meeting here the other messenger, 



72 King Lear [Act n 

Whose welcome I perceiv'd had poison 'd mine — 
Being the very fellow which of late 40 

Display'd so saucily against your highness — 
Having more man than wit about me, drew ; 
He rais'd the house with loud and coward cries. 
Your son and daughter found this trespass worth 
The shame which here it suffers. 

Fool. Winter 's not gone yet, if the wild geese 
fly that way. 

Fathers that wear rags 

Do make their children blind ; 
But fathers that bear bags 50 

Shall see their children kind. — 
But, for all this, thou shalt have as many dolours for 
thy daughters as thou canst tell in a year. 

Lear. O, how this mother swells up toward my heart ! 
Hysterica passio, down, thou climbing sorrow, 
Thy element 's below ! — Where is this daughter ? 

Kent. With the earl, sir, here within. 

Lear. Follow me not ; stay here. [Exit. 

Gentleman. Made you no more offence but what you 
speak of? 

Kent. None. — 60 

How chance the king comes with so small a number ? 

Fool. An thou hadst been set i' the stocks for that 
question, thou 'dst well deserved it. 

Keiit. Why, fool? 

Fool. We '11 set thee to school to an ant, to teach 
thee there 's no labouring i' the winter. All that 



Scene IV] King Lear 73 

follow their noses are led by their eyes but blind 
men ; and there 's not a nose among twenty but can 
smell him that 's stinking. Let go thy hold when a 
great wheel runs down a hill, lest it break thy neck 70 
with following it ; but the great one that goes upward, 
let him draw thee after. When a wise man gives the 
better counsel, give me mine again ; I would have 
none but knaves follow it, since a fool gives it. 

That sir which serves and seeks for gain, 

And follows but for form, 
Will pack when it begins to rain, 

And leave thee in the storm. 
But I will tarry ; the fool will stay, 

And let the wise man fly. 80 

The knave turns fool that runs away ; 
The fool no knave, perdy. 
Kent. Where learned you this, fool ? 
Fool. Not i' the stocks, fool ! 

Re-enter Lear, with Gloster 

Lear. Deny to speak with me ? They are sick ? they 
are weary ? 
They have travell'd all the night ? Mere fetches, 
The images of revolt and flying off. 
Fetch me a better answer. 

Gloster. My dear lord, 

You know the fiery quality of the duke, 
How unremovable and fix'd he is 90 

In his own course. 



74 King Lear [Act n 

Lear. Vengeance ! plague ! death ! confusion ! 
Fiery ? what quality ? Why, Gloster, Gloster, 
I'd speak with the Duke of Cornwall and his wife. 

Gloster. Well, my good lord, I have inform'd them so. 

Lear. Inform'd them ! Dost thou understand me, 
man? 

Gloster. Ay, my good lord. 

Lear. The king would speak with Cornwall ; the 
dear father 
Would with his daughter speak, commands her service. 
Are they inform'd of this ? My breath and blood ! ioo 
Fiery ? the fiery duke ? Tell the hot duke that — 
No, but not yet ; may be he is not well. 
Infirmity doth still neglect all office 
Whereto our health is bound ; we are not ourselves 
When nature being oppress 'd commands the mind 
To suffer with the body. I '11 forbear, 
And am fallen out with my more headier will, 
To take the indispos'd and sickly fit 
For the sound man. — Death on my state ! wherefore 
Should he sit here ? This act persuades me no 

That this remotion of the duke and her 
Is practice only. Give me. my servant forth. 
Go tell the duke and 's wife I 'd speak with them, 
Now, presently ; bid them come forth and hear me, 
Or at their chamber-door I '11 beat the drum 
Till it cry sleep to death. 

Gloster. I would have all well betwixt you. [Exit. 

Lear. O me, my heart, my rising heart ! But, down ! 



Scene IV] King Lear 75 

Fool. Cry to it, nuncle, as the cockney did to the 
eels when she put 'em i' the paste alive ; she knapped 120 
'em o' the coxcombs with a stick, and cried ' Down, 
wantons, down ! ' 'T was her brother that, in pure 
kindness to his horse, buttered his hay. 



Re-enter Gloster, with Cornwall, Regan, and 
Servants. 

Lear. Good morrow to you both. 

Cornwall. Hail to your grace ! 

[Kent is set at liberty. 

Regan. I am glad to see your highness. 

Lear. Regan, I think you are ; I know what reason 
I have to think so. If thou shouldst not be glad, 
I would divorce me from thy mother's tomb, 
Sepulchring an adulteress. — [To Kent] O, are you 

free? 
Some other time for that. — Beloved Regan, 130 

Thy sister 's naught. O Regan, she hath tied 
Sharp-tooth'd unkindness, like a vulture, here ! 

[Points to his heart. 
I can scarce speak to thee ; thou 'It not believe 
With how deprav'd a quality — O Regan ! 

Regan. I pray you, sir, take patience ; I have hope 
You less know how to value her desert 
Than she to scant her duty. 

Lear. Say, how is that ? 

Regan. I cannot think my sister in the least 



j 6 King Lear [Act n 

Would fail her obligation ; if, sir, perchance 
She have restrain'd the riots of your followers, 140 

'T is on such ground and to such wholesome end 
As clears her from all blame. 

Lear. My curses on her ! 

Regan. O, sir, you are old ; 

Nature in you stands on the very verge 
Of her confine : you should be rul'd and led 
By some discretion that discerns your state 
Better than you yourself. Therefore I pray you 
That to our sister you do make return ; 
Say you have wrong'd her, sir. 

Lear. Ask her forgiveness ? 

Do you but mark how this becomes the house : 150 

' Dear daughter, I confess that I am old ; 
Age is unnecessary : on my knees I beg 
That you '11 vouchsafe me raiment, bed, and food.' 

Regan. Good sir, no more ; these are unsightly tricks. 
Return you to my sister. 

Lear. Never, Regan ! 

She hath abated me of half my train, 
Look'd black upon me, strook me with her tongue, 
Most serpent-like, upon the very heart. 
All the stor'd vengeances of heaven fall 
On her ingrateful top ! Strike her young bones, 160 
You taking airs, with lameness ! 

Cornwall. Fie, sir, fie ! 

Lear. You nimble lightnings, dart your blinding 
flames 



Scene IV] King Lear 77 

Into her scornful eyes ! Infect her beauty, 
You fen-suck'd fogs, drawn by the powerful sun, 
To fall and blast her pride ! 

Regan. O the blest gods ! so will you wish on me, 
When the rash mood is on. 

Lear. No, Regan, thou shalt never have my curse ; 
Thy tender-hefted nature shall not give 
Thee o'er to harshness. Her eyes are fierce, but thine 
Do comfort and not burn. 'T is not in thee 171 

To grudge my pleasures, to cut off my train, 
To bandy hasty words, to scant my sizes, 
And in conclusion to oppose the bolt 
Against my coming in. Thou better know'st 
The offices of nature, bond of childhood, 
Effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude ; 
Thy half o' the kingdom hast thou not forgot, 
Wherein I thee endow'd. 

Regan. Good sir, to the purpose. 

Lear. Who put my man i' the stocks ? \Ticcket within. 

Cornwall. What trumpet 's that ? 

Regan. I know % — my sister's ; this approves her 
letter, 181 

That she would soon be here. — 

Enter Oswald 

Is your lady come ? 
Lear. This is a slave, whose easy-borrow'd pride 
Dwells in the fickle grace of her he follows. — 
Out, varlet, from my sight ! 



78 King Lear [Act 11 

Cornwall. What means your grace ? 

Lear. Who stock'd my servant? — Regan, I have 
good hope 
Thou didst not know on 't. — Who comes here ? — 

Enter Goneril 

O heavens, 
If you do love old men, if your sweet sway 
Allow obedience, if yourselves are old, 
Make it your cause ; send down, and take my part ! — 
Art not asham'd to look upon this beard ? — 191 

Regan, will you take her by the hand ? 

Goneril. Why not by the hand, sir? How have I 
offended ? 
All 's not offence that indiscretion finds 
And dotage terms so. 

Lear. O sides, you are too tough ; 

Will you yet hold? — How came my man i' the 
stocks ? 

Cornwall. I set him there, sir ; but his own disorders 
Deserv'd much less advancement. 

Lear. You ! did you ? 

Regan. I pray you, father, being weak, seem so. 
If, till the expiration of your month, 200 

You will return and sojourn with my sister, 
Dismissing half your train, come then to me ; 

1 am now from home, and out of that provision 
Which shall be needful for your entertainment. 

Lear. Return to her, and fifty men dismiss 'd ? 



Scene IV] King Lear 79 

No, rather I abjure all roofs, and choose 

To wage against the enmity o' the air, 

To be a comrade with the wolf and owl. — 

Necessity's sharp pinch ! — Return with her ? 

Why, the hot-blooded France, that dowerless took 210 

Our youngest born, — I could as well be brought 

To knee his throne, and, squire-like, pension beg 

To keep base life afoot. Return with her ? 

Persuade me rather to be slave and sumpter 

To this detested groom. [Pointing at Oswald. 

Goneril. At your choice, sir. 

Lear. I prithee, daughter, do not make me mad. 
I will not trouble thee, my child ; farewell. 
We '11 no more meet, no more see one another. 
But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter, 
Or rather a disease that 's in my flesh, 220 

Which I must needs call mine ; thou art a boil, 
A plague-sore, an embossed carbuncle, 
In my corrupted blood. But I '11 not chide thee ; 
Let shame come when it will, I do not call it ; 
I do not bid the thunder-bearer shoot, 
Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove. 
Mend when thou canst ; be better at thy leisure. 
I can be patient ; I can stay with Regan, 
I and my hundred knights. 

Regan. Not altogether so ; 

I look'd not for you yet, nor am provided 230 

For your fit welcome. Give ear, sir, to my sister ; 
For those that mingle reason with your passion 



80 King Lear [Act n 

Must be content to think you old, and so — 
But she knows what she does. 

Lear. Is this well spoken ? 

Regan. I dare avouch it, sir. What, fifty followers ? 
Is it not well ? What should you need of more ? 
Yea, or so many, sith that both charge and danger 
Speak 'gainst so great a number ? How, in one house, 
Should many people under two commands 
Hold amity ? 'T is hard, almost impossible. 240 

Goneril. Why might not you, my lord, receive at- 
tendance 
From those that she calls servants or from mine ? 

Regan. Why not, my lord ? If then they chanc'd to 
slack ye, 
We could control them. If you will come to me, — 
For now I spy a danger, — I entreat you 
To bring but five and twenty ; to no more 
Will I give place or notice. 

Lear. I gave you all — 

Regan. And in good time you gave it. 

Lear. Made you my guardians, my depositaries, 
But kept a reservation to be follow'd 250 

With such a number. What, must I come to you 
With five and twenty, Regan ? said you so ? 

Regan. And speak 't again, my lord ; no more with 
me. 

Lear. Those wicked creatures yet do look well- 
favour'd 
When others are more wicked ; not being the worst 



Scene ivj King Lear 81 

Stands in some rank of praise. — [To Goneril~\ I '11 go 

with thee ; 
Thy fifty yet doth double five and twenty, 
And thou art twice her love. 

Gomril. Hear me, my lord ; 

What need you five and twenty, ten, or five, 
To follow in a house where twice so many 260 

Have a command to tend you ? 

Regan. What need one ? 

Lear. O, reason not the need ; our basest beggars 
Are in the poorest thing superfluous. 
Allow not nature more than nature needs, 
Man's life is cheap as beast's. Thou art a lady ; 
If only to go warm were gorgeous, 
Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear'st, 
Which scarcely keeps thee warm. But for true need — 
You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need 1 
You see me hefe, you gods, a poor old man, 270 

As full of grief as age ; wretched in both. 
If it be you that stirs these daughters' hearts 
Against their father, fool me not so much 
To bear it tamely ; touch me with noble anger, 
And let not women's weapons, water-drops, 
Stain my man's cheeks ! — No, you unnatural hags, 
I will have such revenges on you both, 
That all the world shall — I will do such things — 
What they are, yet I know not ; but they shall be 
The terrors of the earth. You think I '11 weep ; 280 
No, I '11 not weep. 

KING LEAR — 6 



82 King Lear [Act n 

I have full cause of weeping, but this heart 
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws 
Or ere I '11 weep. — O fool, I shall go mad ! 

[Exeunt Lear, Gloster, Kent, and Fool. 
Storm and tempest. 
Cornwall. Let us withdraw ; 't will be a storm. 
Regan. This house is little ; the old man and 's 
people 
Cannot be well bestow'd. 

Goneril. 'T is his own blame ; hath put himself from 
rest 
And must needs taste his folly. 

Regan. For his particular, I '11 receive him gladly, 290 
But not one follower. 

Goneril. So am I purpos'd. 

Where is my lord of Gloster ? 

Cornwall. Follow 'd the old man forth ; he is re- 
turn'd. 

Re-enter Gloster 

Gloster. The king is in high rage. 

Cornwall. Whither is he going ? 

Gloster. He calls to horse, but will I know not 
whither. 

Cornwall. 'T is best to give him way ; he leads him- 
self. 

Goneril. My lord, entreat him by no means to stay. 

Gloster. Alack ! the night comes on, and the high 
winds 



Scene IV] King Lear 83 

Do sorely ruffle ; for many miles about 
There 's scarce a bush. 

Regan. O, sir, to wilful men, 300 

The injuries that they themselves procure 
Must be their schoolmasters. Shut up your doors. 
He is attended with a desperate train ; 
And what they may incense him to, being apt 
To have his ear abus'd, wisdom bids fear. 

Cornwall. Shut up your doors, my lord, 't is a wild 
night ; 
My Regan counsels well. Come out o' the storm. 

\Exeunt. 




-&^v^ ^. 



ACT III 

Scene I. A Heath 

Storm still. Enter Kent and a Gentleman, meeting 

Kent. Who 's there, besides foul weather ? 
Gentleman. One minded like the weather, most un- 

quietly. 
Kent. I know you. Where 's the king ? 
Gentleman. Contending with the fretful elements ; 
Bids the wind blow the earth into the sea, 

84 



Scene I] King Lear 85 

Or swell the curled waters 'bove the main, 

That things might change or cease ; tears his white 

hair, 
Which the impetuous blasts, with eyeless rage, 
Catch in their fury, and make nothing of ; 
Strives in his little world of man to out-scorn 10 

The to-and-fro-conflicting wind and rain. 
This night, wherein the cub-drawn bear would couch, 
The lion and the belly-pinched wolf 
Keep their fur dry, unbonneted he runs,. 
And bids what will take all. 

Kent. But who is with him ? 

Gentleman. None but the fool, who labours to out- 
jest 
His heart-strook injuries. 

Kent. Sir, I do know you, 

And dare, upon the warrant of my note, 
Commend a dear thing to you. There is division, 
Although as yet the face of it is cover'd 20 

With mutual cunning, 'twixt Albany and Cornwall, 
Who have — as who have not that their great stars 
Thron'd and set high ? — servants, who seem no 

less, 
Which are to France the spies and speculations 
Intelligent of our state. What hath been seen, 
Either in snuffs and packings of the dukes, 
Or the hard rein which both of them have borne 
Against the old kind king, or something deeper, 
Whereof perchance these are but furnishings, — 



86 King Lear [Act in 

But, true it is, from France there comes a power 30 

Into this scatter'd kingdom, who already, 

Wise in our negligence, have secret feet 

In some of our best ports, and are at point 

To show their open banner. Now to you : 

If on my credit you dare build so far 

To make your speed to Dover, you shall find 

Some that will thank you, making just report 

Of how unnatural and bemadding sorrow 

The king hath cause to plain. 

I am a gentleman of blood and breeding, 40 

And from some knowledge and assurance offer 

This office to you. 

Ge?itleman. I will talk further with you. 

Kent. No, do not. 

For confirmation that I am much more 
Than my out-wall, open this purse and take 
What it contains. If you shall see Cordelia, — 
As fear not but you shall, — show her this ring ; 
And she will tell you who that fellow is 
That yet you do not know. Fie on this storm ! 
I will go seek the king. 

Gentleman. Give me your hand ; 50 

Have you no more to say ? 

Kent. Few words, but, to effect, more than all yet : 
That, when we have found the king, — in which your 

pain 
That way, I '11 this, — he that first lights on him 
Holla the other. \Exeunt severally. 



Scene ii] King Lear 87 

Scene II. Another Part of the Heath. Storm still 
Enter Lear and Fool 

Lear. Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks ! rage ! 
blow ! 
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout 
Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown 'd the cocks ! 
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, 
Vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts, 
Singe my white head ! And thou, all-shaking thunder, 
Strike flat the thick rotundity o' the world ! 
Crack nature's moulds, all germens spill at once 
That make ingrateful man ! 

Fool. O nuncle, court holy-water in a dry house 10 
is better than this rain-water out o' door. Good 
nuncle, in ; ask thy daughters' blessing ; here 's a 
night pities neither wise men nor fools. 

Lear. Rumble thy bellyful ! Spit, fire ! spout, rain ! 
Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters. 
I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness ; 
I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children, 
You owe me no subscription. Then let fall 
Your horrible pleasure ; here I stand, your slave, 
A poor, infirm, weak, and despis'd old man. 20 

But yet I call you servile ministers, 
That will with two pernicious daughters join 
Your high-en gender 'd battles 'gainst a head 
So old and white as this. O ! O ! 't is foul ! 



88 King Lear [Act m 

Fool. He that has a house to put 's head in has a 

good head-piece. 

The man that makes his toe 

What he his heart should make 

Shall of a corn cry woe, 

And turn his sleep to wake. 30 

For there was never yet fair woman but she made 

mouths in a glass. 

Lear. No, % I will be the pattern of all patience ; 

I will say nothing. 

Enter Kent 

Kent. Who 's there ? 

Fool. Marry, here 's a wise man and a fool. 

Kent. Alas, sir, are you here ? Things that love night 
Love not such nights as these ; the wrathful skies 
Gallow the very wanderers of the dark, 
And make them keep their caves. Since I was man, 40 
Such sheets of fire, such bursts of horrid thunder, 
Such groans of roaring wind and rain, I never 
Remember to have heard ; man's nature cannot carry 
The affliction nor the fear. 

Lear. Let the great gods, 

That keep this dreadful pudder o'er our heads, 
Find out their enemies now. — Tremble, thou wretch, 
That hast within thee undivulged crimes, 
Unwhipp'd of justice. — Hide thee, thou bloody hand, 
Thou perjur'd, and thou simular of virtue 
That art incestuous. — Caitiff, to pieces shake, 50 

That under covert and convenient seeming 



Scene II] King Lear 89 

Has practis'd on man's life. — Close pent-up guilts, 
Rive your concealing continents and cry 
These dreadful summoners grace. I am a man 
More sinn'd against than sinning. 

Kent. s - " Alack, bare-headed ! 

Gracious my lord, hard by here is a hovel ; 
Some friendship will it lend you 'gainst the tempest. 
Repose you there, while I to this hard house — 
More harder than the stones whereof 't is rais'd, 
Which even but now, demanding after you, 60 

Denied me to come in — return, and force 
Their scanted courtesy. 

Lear. My wits begin to turn. — 

Come on, my boy ; how dost, my boy ? art cold ? 
I am cold myself. — Where is this straw, my fellow ? — 
<jThe art of our necessities is strange, 
That can make vile things precious.. — Come, your 

hovel. — 
Poor fool and knave, I have one part in my heart 
That's sorry yet for thee. 

Fool. [Sings] He that has and a little tiny wit, 

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 70 

Must make content with his fortunes Jit, 
For the rain it raineth every day. 
Lear. True, boy. — Come, bring us to this hovel. 

\_Exeunt Lear and Kent. 
Fool. I '11 speak a prophecy ere I go : 

When priests are more in word than matter ; 
When brewers mar their malt with water ; 



go King Lear [Act in 

When nobles are their tailors' tutors ; 

No heretics burn'd, but wenches' suitors ; 

When every case in law is right ; 

No squire in debt, nor no poor knight ; 80 

When slanders do not live in tongues, 

Nor cutpurses come not to throngs ; 

Then shall the realm of Albion 

Come to great confusion. 

Then comes the time, who lives to see 't, 

That going shall be us'd with feet. 
This prophecy Merlin shall make ; for I live before 
his time. [Exit. 

Scene III. Glo sterns Castle 
Enter Gloster and Edmund 

Gloster. Alack, alack, Edmund, I like not this un- 
natural dealing. When I desired their leave that I 
might pity him, they took from me the use of mine 
own house ; charged me, on pain of perpetual dis- 
pleasure, neither to speak of him, entreat for him, 
or any way sustain him. 

Edmund. Most savage and unnatural ! 

Gloster. Go to; say you nothing. There 's a 
division between the dukes, and a worse matter than 
that. I have received a letter this night ; 't is dan- 10 
gerous to be spoken ; I have locked the letter in my 
closet. These injuries the king now bears will be 
revenged home ; there is part of a power already 



Scene IV] King Lear 91 

footed ; we must incline to the king. I will look 
him, and privily relieve him ; go you and maintain 
talk with the duke, that my charity be not of him per- 
ceived. If he ask for me, I am ill and gone to bed. 
If I die for it, as no less is threatened me, the king 
my old master must be relieved. There is strange 
things toward, Edmund ; pray you, be careful. [Exit. 

Edmund. This courtesy, forbid thee, shall the duke 
Instantly know, and of that letter too. 22 

This seems a fair deserving, and must draw me 
That which my father loses, — no less than all. 
The younger rises when the old doth fall. [Exit 

Scene IV. The Heath. Before a Hovel 

Enter Lear, Kent, and Fool 

Kent. Here is the place, my lord ; good my lord, 
enter. 
The tyranny of the open night 's too rough 
For nature to endure. [Storm still. 

Lear. Let me alone. 

Kent. Good my lord, enter here. 
Lear. Wilt break my heart ? 

Kent. I had rather break mine own. Good my 

lord, enter. 
Lear. Thou think'st 't is much that this conten- 
tious storm 
Invades us to the skin ; so 't is to thee, 
But where the greater malady is flx'd, 



92 King Lear [Act m 

The lesser is scarce felt. Thou 'dst shun a bear ; 
But if thy flight lay toward the roaring sea, 10 

Thou 'dst meet the bear i' the mouth. When the 

mind 's free 
The body 's delicate ; the tempest in my mind 
Doth from my senses take all feeling else 
Save what beats there. Filial ingratitude ! 
Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand 
For lifting food to 't ? But I will punish home. 
No, I will weep no more. In such a night 
To shut me out ! Pour on ; I will endure. 
In such a night as this ! O Regan, Goneril ! 
Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all, — 20 
O, that way madness lies ! let me shun that ; 
No more of that ! 

Kent. Good my lord, enter here. 

Lear. Prithee, go in thyself ; seek thine own ease. 
This tempest will not give me leave to ponder 
On things would hurt me more. But I '11 go in. — 
In, boy ; go first. — You houseless poverty, — 
Nay, get thee in. I '11 pray, and then I '11 sleep. — 

\F00l goes in. 
Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, 
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, 
How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, 30 
Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you 
From seasons such as these? — O, I have ta'en 
Too little care of this ! — Take physic, pomp ; 
Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, 



Scene IV] King Lear 93 

That thou mayst shake the superflux to them 
And show the heavens more just. 

Edgar. [Within] Fathom and half, fathom and 
half ! Poor Tom ! [The Fool runs out from the hovel. 

Fool. Come not in here, nuncle, here 's a spirit. 
Help me, help me ! 4c 

Kent. Give me thy hand. — Who 's there ? 

Fool. A spirit, a spirit ! he says his name 's poor 
Tom. 

Kent. What art thou that dost grumble there i' 
the straw? Come forth. 

Enter Edgar disguised as a madman 

Edgar. Away ! the foul fiend follows me ! Through 
the sharp hawthorn blow the winds. Hum ! go to 
thy bed, and warm thee. 

Lear. Didst thou give all to thy daughters ? And 
art thou come to this ? 50 

Edgar. Who gives any thing to poor Tom ? whom 
the foul fiend hath led through fire and through 
flame, through ford and whirlpool, o'er bog and 
quagmire ; that hath laid knives under his pillow, 
and halters in his pew ; set ratsbane by his por- 
ridge ; made him proud of heart, to ride on a bay 
trotting-horse over four-inched bridges, to course his 
own shadow for a traitor. Bless thy five wits ! Tom 's 
a-cold. O, do de, do de, do de ! Bless thee from 
whirlwinds, star-blasting, and taking ! Do poor 60 
Tom some charity, whom the foul fiend vexes. 



94 King Lear [Act ill 

There could I have him now, and there, and there 
again, and there. [Storm still. 

Lear. What, have his daughters brought him to this 
pass ? — 
Couldst thou save nothing? Wouldst thou give 'em all? 

Fool. Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been 
all shamed. 

Lear. Now, all the plagues that in the pendulous air 
Hang fated o'er men's faults light on thy daughters ! 

Kent. He hath no daughters, sir. 7 o 

Lear. Death, traitor! nothing could have subdued 
nature 
To such a lowness but his unkind daughters. 
Is it the fashion that discarded fathers 
Should have thus little mercy on their flesh ? 
Judicious punishment ! 't was this flesh begot 
Those pelican daughters. 

Edgar. Pillicock sat on Pillicock-hill ; 
Halloo, halloo, loo, loo ! 

Fool. This cold night will turn us all to fools and 
madmen. 80 

Edgar. Take heed o' the foul fiend ; obey thy 
parents ; keep thy word justly ; swear not ; commit 
not with man's sworn spouse ; set not thy sweet 
heart on proud array. Tom 's a-cold. 

Lear. What hast thou been ? 

Edgar. A serving-man, proud in heart and mind ; 
that curled my hair, wore gloves in my cap, swore 
as many oaths as I spake words, and broke them in 



Scene IV] King Lear 95 

the sweet face of heaven ; one that slept in the con- 
triving of lust and waked to do it. Wine loved I 90 
deeply, dice dearly, and in woman out-paramoured 
the Turk ; false of heart, light of ear, bloody of 
hand ; hog in sloth, fox in stealth, wolf in greediness, 
dog in madness, lion in prey. Let not the creaking 
of shoes nor the rustling of silks betray thy poor 
heart to woman. Keep thy foot out of brothels, thy 
pen from lenders' books, and defy the foul fiend. — 
Still through the hawthorn blows the cold wind ; 
says suum, mun, nonny. Dolphin my boy, my boy, 
sessa ! let him trot by. [Storm still. 

Lear. Thou wert better in thy grave than to an- 101 
swer with thy uncovered body this extremity of the 
skies. Is man no more than this ? Consider him 
well. Thou owest the worm no silk, the beast no 
hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. Ha! 
here 's three on 's are sophisticated ! Thou art the 
thing itself ; unaccommodated man is no more but 
such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art. — Off, 
off, you lendings ! come, unbutton here. 

Fool. Prithee, nuncle, be contented ; 't is a no 
naughty night to swim in. Now a little fire in a 
wide field were like an old lecher's heart, a small 
spark, all the rest on 's body cold. — Look, here 
comes a walking fire. 

Edgar. This is the foul Flibbertigibbet. He be- 
gins at curfew and walks at first cock ; he gives the 
web and the pin, squints the eye, and makes the 



96 King Lear [Act in 

hare-lip ; mildews the white wheat and hurts the poor 
creature of earth. 

Saint Withold footed thrice the old ; 120 

He met the nightmare and her nine-fold ; 
Bid her alight, 
And her troth plight, 
And, aroint thee, witch, aroint thee ! 

Enter Gloster, with a torch. 

Kent. How fares your grace ? 

Lear. What 's he ? 

Kent. Who 's there ? What is 't you seek ? 

Gloster. What are you there ? Your names ? 

Edgar. Poor Tom, that eats the swimming frog, 
the toad, the tadpole, the wall-newt and the water ; 130 
that in the fury of his heart, when the foul fiend rages, 
eats cow-dung for sallets ; swallows the old rat and the 
ditch-dog ; drinks the green mantle of the standing 
pool ; who is whipped from tithing to tithing, and 
stocked, punished, and imprisoned ; who hath three 
suits to his back, six shirts to his body ; 

Horse to ride, and weapon to wear ; 
But mice and rats and such small deer 
Have been Tom's food for seven long year. 
Beware my follower. — Peace, Smulkin ! peace, thou 140 
fiend ! 

Gloster. What, hath your grace no better company ? 

Edgar. The prince of darkness is a gentleman ; 
Modo he 's called, and Mahu. 



Scene IV] King Lear 97 

Gloster. Our flesh and blood, my lord, is grown so vile 
That it doth hate what gets it. 

Edgar. Poor Tom 's a-cold. 

Gloster. Go in with me ; my duty cannot suffer 
To obey in all your daughters' hard commands. 
Though their injunction be to bar my doors 150 

And let this tyrannous night take hold upon you, ■ 
Yet have I ventur'd to come seek you out, 
And bring you where both fire and food is ready. 

Lear. First let me talk with this philosopher. — 
What is the cause of thunder ? 

Ke?it. Good my lord, take his offer ; go into the 
house. 

Lear. I '11 talk a word with this same learned 
Theban. — 
What is your study ? 

Edgar. How to prevent the fiend and to kill vermin. 

Lear. Let me ask you one word in private. 160 

Kent. Importune him once more to go, my lord ; 
His wits begin to unsettle. 

Gloster. Canst thou blame him ? 

\Storm still. 
His daughters seek his death. Ah, that good Kent ! 
He said it would be thus, poor banish'd man ! 
Thou say'st the king grows mad ; I '11 tell thee, friend, 
I am almost mad myself. I had a son, 
Now outlaw'd from my blood ; he sought my life, 
But lately, very late. I lov'd him, friend, 
No father his son dearer ; true to tell thee, 

KING LEAR — J 



98 King Lear [Act m 

The grief hath craz'd my wits. What a night 's this! — 
I do beseech your grace, — 

Lear. O, cry you mercy, sir. — 171 

Noble philosopher, your company. 

Edgar. Tom 's a-cold. 

Gloster. In, fellow, there, into the hovel ; keep thee 
warm. 

Lear. Come, let 's in all. 

Kent. This way, my lord. 

Lear. With him ; 

I will keep still with my philosopher. 

Kent. Good my lord, soothe him ; let him take the 
fellow. 

Gloster. Take him you on. 

Kent. Sirrah, come on ; go along with us. 

Lear. Come, good Athenian. 180 

Gloster. No words, no words ; hush ! 

Edgar. Child Rowland to the dark tower came ; 
His word was still, — Fie, foh, andfum, 

I smell the blood of a British man. [Exeunt. 

Scene V. Glo sterns Castle 
E?tter Cornwall and Edmund 

Cornwall. I will have my revenge ere I depart his 
house. 

Edmund. How, my lord, I may be censured, that 
nature thus gives way to loyalty, something fears me 
to think of. 



Scene vrj King Lear 99 

Cornwall. I now perceive it was not altogether 
your brother's evil disposition made him seek his 
death, but a provoking merit, set a-work by a reprov- 
able badness in himself. 

Edmund. How malicious is my fortune, that I 10 
must repent to be just ! This is the letter he spoke 
of, which approves him an intelligent party to the 
advantages of France. O heavens ! that this trea- 
son were not, or not I the detector ! 

Cornwall. Go with me to the duchess. 

Edmund. If the matter of this paper be certain, 
you have mighty business in hand. 

Cornwall. True or false, it hath made thee earl of 
Gloster. Seek out where thy father is, that he may 
be ready for our apprehension. 20 

Edmund. [Aside] If I find him comforting the 
king, it will stuff his suspicion more fully. — I will 
persever in my course of loyalty, though the conflict 
be sore between that and my blood. 

Cornwall. I will lay trust upon thee, and thou 
shalt find a dearer father in my love. [Exeunt. 

Scene VI. A Chamber in a Earmhouse adjoining the 

Castle 

Enter Gloster, Lear, Kent, Fool, and Edgar 

Gloster. Here is better than the .open air ; take it 
thankfully. I will piece out the comfort with what 
addition I can. I will not be long from you. 

LofC.i 



ioo King Lear [Act m 

Kent. All the power of his wits have given way to 
his impatience. The gods reward your kindness ! 

[Exit Gloster. 
Edgar. Frateretto calls me, and tells me Nero is 
an angler in the lake of darkness. — Pray, innocent, 
and beware the foul fiend. 

Fool. Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman 
be a gentleman or a yeoman ? 10 

Lear. A king, a king ! 

Fool. No, he 's a yeoman that has a gentleman to 
his son ; for he 's a mad yeoman that sees his son a 
gentleman before him. 

Lear. To have a thousand with red burning spits 
Come hizzing in upon 'em, — 

Edgar. The foul fiend bites my back. 
Fool. He 's mad that trusts in the tameness of a 
wolf, a horse's health, a boy's love, or a whore's oath. 

Lear. It shall be done; I will arraign them straight. — 20 
[To Edgar] Come, sit thou here, most learned jus- 
tice r. — 
[To the Fool] Thou, sapient sir, sit here. — Now, you 
she foxes ! 
Edgar. Look, where he stands and glares ! — 
Wantest thou eyes at trial, madam ? 

Come o^er the bourn, Bessy, to me. 
Fool. Her boat hath a leak, 

And she must not speak 
Why she dares not come over to thee. 
Edgar. The foul fiend haunts poor Tom in the 



Scene vi] King Lear 101 

voice of a nightingale. Hoppedance cries in Tom's 30 
belly for two white herring. — Croak not, black 
angel ; I have no food for thee. 

Kent. How do you, sir ? Stand you not so amaz'd. 
Will you lie down and rest upon the cushions ? 

Lear. I '11 see their trial first. — Bring in their evi- 
dence. — 
[To Edgar] Thou robed man of justice, take thy 

place, — 
[To the Fool] And thou, his yoke-fellow of equity, 
Bench by his side. — [To Kent] You are o' the commis- 
sion, 
Sit you too. 

Edgar. Let us deal justly. 40 

Sleepest or wakest thou, jolly shepherd ? 

Thy sheep be in the corn ; 
And for one blast of thy minikin mouth, 
Thy sheep shall take no harm. 
Pur ! the cat is gray. 

Lear. Arraign her first ; 't is Goneril. I here 
take my oath before this honourable assembly, she 
kicked the poor king her father. 

Fool. Come hither, mistress. Is your name 
Goneril ? -50 

Lear. She cannot deny it. 

Fool. Cry you mercy, I took you for a joint-stool. 
Lear. And here 's another, whose warp'd looks pro- 
claim 
What store her heart is made on. — Stop her there ! 



102 King Lear [Act III 

Arms, arms, sword, fire ! Corruption in the place ! — 
False justicer, why hast thou let her scape ? 
Edgar. Bless thy five wits ! 
Kent. O pity ! — Sir, where is the patience now, 
That you so oft have boasted to retain ? 

Edgar. [Aside] My tears begin to take his part so 
much, 60 

They mar my counterfeiting. 

Lear. The little dogs and all, 
Tray, Blanch, and Sweetheart, see, they bark at me. 
Edgar. Tom will throw his head at them. — 
Avaunt, you curs ! 

Be thy mouth or black or white, 
Tooth that poisons if it bite ; 
Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim, 
Hound or spaniel, brach or lym, 
Or bobtail tike or trundle-tail, 70 

Tom will make him weep and wail ; 
For, with throwing thus my head, 
Dogs leap'd the hatch, and all are fled. 
Do de, de, de ! Sessa ! Come, march to wakes and 
fairs and market-towns. Poor Tom, thy horn is dry. 
Lear. Then let them anatomize Regan ; see what 
breeds about her heart. Is there any cause in nature 
that makes these hard hearts? — [To Edgar] You, 
sir, I entertain for one of my hundred ; only I do not 
like the fashion of your garments. You will say 80 
they are Persian ; but let them be changed. 

Kent. Now, good my lord, lie here and rest awhile. 



Scene vi] King Lear 103 

Lear. Make no noise, make no noise ; draw the 
curtains ; so, so. We '11 go to supper i' the morning. 
Fool. And I '11 go to bed at noon. „ 

Re-e7iter Gloster 

Gloster. Come hither, friend ; where is the king 

my master ? 
Kent. Here, sir ; but trouble him not, his wits are 

gone. 
Gloster. Good friend, I prithee, take him in thy 
arms ; 
I have o'erheard a plot of death upon him. 
There is a litter ready ; lay him in 't, 90 

And drive toward Dover, friend, where thou shalt meet 
Both welcome and protection. Take up thy master. 
If thou shouldst dally half an hour, his life, 
With thine, and all that offer to defend him, 
Stand in assured loss. Take up, take up ; 
And follow me, that will to some provision 
Give thee quick conduct. 

Kent. Oppress'd nature sleeps. 

This rest might yet have balm'd thy broken sinews, 
Which, if convenience will not allow, 
Stand in hard cure. — [To the Fool~\ Come, help to 
bear thy master ; 100 

Thou must not stay behind. 

Gloster. Come, come, away. 

[Exeunt all but Edgar. 
Edgar. When we our betters see bearing our woes, 



104 King Lear [Act in 

We scarcely think our miseries our foes. 

Who alone suffers suffers most i' the mind, 

Leaving free things and happy shows behind ; 

But then the mind much sufferance doth o'erskip, 

When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship. 

How light and portable my pain seems now, 

When that which makes me bend makes the king bow, 

He childed as I father'd ! Tom, away ! no 

Mark the high noises, and thyself bewray, 

When false opinion, whose wrong thoughts defile thee, 

In thy just proof repeals and reconciles thee. 

What will hap more to-night, safe scape the king ! 

Lurk, lurk. [Exit. 

Scene VII. G Zoster's Castle 

Enter Cornwall, Regan, Goneril, Edmund, and 

Servants 

Cornwall. \_To Goneril'] Post speedily to my lord 
your husband ; show him this letter ; the army of 
France is landed. — Seek out the villain Gloster. 

[Exeunt some, of the Servants. 

Regan. Hang him instantly. 

Goneril. Pluck out his eyes. 

Cornwall. Leave him to my displeasure — Ed- 
mund, keep you our sister company. The revenges 
we are bound to take upon your traitorous father 
are not fit for your beholding. Advise the duke, 
where you are going, to a most festinate prepara- 10 
tion ; we are bound to the like. Our posts shall be 



Scene vil] King Lear 105 

swift and intelligent betwixt us. — Farewell, dear 
sister. — Farewell, my lord of Gloster. — 

Enter Oswald 

How now ! where 's the king ? 

Oswald. My lord of Gloster hath convey'd him hence. 
Some five or six and thirty of his knights, 
Hot questrists after him, met him at gate ; 
Who, with some other of the lord's dependants, 
Are gone with him toward Dover, where they boast 
To have well-armed friends. 

Cornwall. Get horses for your mistress. 

Goneril. Farewell, sweet lord, and sister. 21 

Cornwall. Edmund, farewell. — 

\Exeunt Goneril, Edmund, and Oswald. 
Go seek the traitor Gloster. 
Pinion him like a thief, bring him before us. — 

[Exeunt other Servants. 
Though well we may not pass upon his life 
Without the form of justice, yet our power 
Shall do a courtesy to our wrath, which men 
May blame but not control. — Who 's there ? the traitor ? 

Enter Gloster, brought in by two or three 

Regan. Ingrateful fox ! 't is he. 
Cornwall. Bind fast his corky arms. 
Gloster. What means your graces? — Good my 
friends, consider 30 

You are my guests ; do me no foul play, friends. 



106 King Lear [Act m 

Cornwall. Bind him, I say. 

Regan. Hard, hard. — O filthy traitor 1 

Gloster. Unmerciful lady as you are, I 'm none. 

Cornwall. To this chair bind him. — Villain, thou 
shalt find — [Regan plucks his beard. 

Gloster. By the kind gods, 't is most ignobly done 
To pluck me by the beard. 

Regan. So white, and such a traitor ! 

Gloster. Naughty lady, 

These hairs which thou dost ravish from my chin 
Will quicken and accuse thee. I am your host ; 
With robbers' hands my hospitable favours 40 

You should not ruffle thus. What will you do ? 

Cornwall. Come, sir, what letters had you late from 
France ? 

Regan. Be simple-answer' d, for we know the truth. 

Cornwall. And what confederacy have you with the 
traitors 
Late footed in the kingdom ? 

Regan. To whose hands have you sent the lunatic 
king ? 
Speak. 

Gloster. I have a letter guessingly set down, 
Which came from one that 's of a neutral heart, 
And not from one oppos'd. 

Cornwall. Cunning. 

Regan. And false. 50 

Cornwall. Where hast thou sent the king ? 

Gloster. To Dover. 



Scene vii] King Lear 107 

Regan. Wherefore to Dover. Wast thou not charg'd 

at peril — 
Cornwall. Wherefore to Dover ? — Let him first 

answer that. 
Gloster. I am tied to the stake, and I must stand 

the course. 
Regan. Wherefore to Dover ? 
Gloster. Because I would not see thy cruel nails 
Pluck out his poor old eyes, nor thy fierce sister 
In his anointed flesh stick boarish fangs. 
The sea, with such a storm as his bare head 
In hell-black night endur'd, would have buoy'd up 60 
And quench'd the stelled fires ; 
Yet, poor old heart, he holp the heavens to rain. 
If wolves had at thy gate howl'd that stern time, 
Thou shouldst have said, 'Good porter, turn the 

key, 
All cruels else subscribe.' But I shall see 
The winged vengeance overtake such children. 

Cornwall. See 't shalt thou never. — Fellows, hold 
the chair. — 
Upon these eyes of thine I '11 set my foot. 

Gloster. He that will think to live till he be old, 
Give me some help ! — O cruel ! O you gods ! 70 

Regan. One side will mock another ; the other 

too. 
Cornwall. If you see vengeance — 
1 Servant. Hold your hand, my lord ! 

I have serv'd you ever since I was a child ; 



108 King Lear [Act m 

But better service have I never done you 
Than now to bid you hold. 

Regan. How now, you dog ! 

i Servant. If you did wear a beard upon your chin, 
I 'd shake it on this quarrel. What do you mean ? 
Cornwall. My villain ! [They draw and fight. 

i Servant. Nay, then, come on, and take the chance 
of anger. 79 

Regan. Give me thy sword. — A peasant stand up 
thus ! [Takes a sword, and runs at him behind. 
i Servant. O, I am slain ! — My lord, you have 
one eye left 
To see some mischief on him. — O ! [Dies. 

Cornwall. Lest it see more, prevent it. — Out, vile 
jelly ! 
Where is thy lustre now ? 

Gloster. All dark and comfortless. — Where 's my 
son Edmund ? — 
Edmund, enkindle all the sparks of nature, 
To quit this horrid act. 

Regan. Out, treacherous villain ! 

Thou call'st on him that hates thee ; it was he 
That made the overture of thy treasons to us, 
Who is too good to pity thee. 90 

Gloster. O my follies ! then Edgar was abus'd. — 
Kind gods, forgive me that, and prosper him ! 

Regan. Go thrust him out at gates, and let him smell 
His way to Dover. — [Exit one with Gloster.] How 
is 't, my lord ? how look you ? 



Scene VII] King Lear 109 

Cornwall. I have receiv'd a hurt ; follow me, lady. — 
Turn out that eyeless villain ; throw this slave 
Upon the dunghill. — Regan, I bleed apace ; 
Untimely comes this hurt. Give me your arm. 

\Exit Cornwall, led by Regan. 

2 Servant. I '11 never care what wickedness I do, 
If this man come to good. 

3 Servant. If she live long, 100 
And in the end meet the old course of death, 
Women will all turn monsters. 

2 Servant. Let 's follow the old earl, and get the 

Bedlam 
To lead him where he would ; his roguish madness 
Allows itself to any thing. 

3 Servant. Go thou. I '11 fetch some flax and 

whites of eggs 
To apply to his bleeding face. Now, heaven help him ! 

\_Exeunt severally. 




Dover Cliff 



ACT IV 



Scene I. The Heath 



Enter Edgar 

Edgar. Yet better thus, and known to be contemn 'd, 
Than still contemn 'd and flatter'd. To be worst, 
The lowest and most dejected thing of fortune, 
Stands still in esperance, lives not in fear. 
The lamentable change is from the best ; 
The worst returns to laughter. Welcome, then, 
Thou unsubstantial air that I embrace ! 
The wretch that thou hast blown unto the worst 
Owes nothing to thy blasts. — But who comes here ? 

no 



Scene I] King Lear 1 1 1 

Enter Gloster, led by an Old Man 

My father, poorly led ? — World, world, O world ! 10 
But that thy strange mutations make us hate thee, 
Life would not yield to age. 

Old Man. O my good lord, 

I have been your tenant, and your father's tenant, 
These fourscore years. 

Gloster. Away, get thee away ; good friend, be gone. 
Thy comforts can do me no good at all ; 
Thee they may hurt. 

Old Man. You cannot see your way. 

Gloster. I have no way, and therefore want no eyes ; 
I stumbled when I saw. Full oft 't is seen, 
Our means secure us, and our mere defects 20 

Prove our commodities. — O dear son Edgar, 
The food of thy abused father's wrath ! 
Might I but live to see thee in my touch, 
I 'd say I had eyes again ! 

Old Man. How now ! Who 's there ? 

Edgar. \_Aside~\ O gods ! Who is 't can say ' I am 
at the worst ? ' 
I am worse than e'er I was. 

Old Man. 'T is poor mad Tom. 

Edgar. \_Aside~\ And worse I may be yet ; the worst 
is not 
So long as we can say ' This is the worst.' 

Old Man. Fellow, where goest ? 

Gloster. Is it a beggar-man ? 



H2 King Lear [Act IV 

Old Man. Madman and beggar too. 30 

Gloster. He has some reason, else he could not beg. 
I' the last night's storm I such a fellow saw, 
Which made me think a man a worm. My son 
Came then into my mind, and yet my mind 
Was then scarce friends with him. I have heard more 

since. 
As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods ; 
They kill us for their sport. \ 

Edgar. [Aside] How should this be ? 

Bad is the trade that must play fool to sorrow, 
Angering itself and others. — Bless thee, master ! 

Gloster. Is that the naked fellow ? 

Old Man. Ay, my lord. 40 

Gloster. Then, prithee, get thee gone. If for my sake 
Thou wilt o'ertake us hence a mile or twain 
I' the way toward Dover, do it for ancient love ; 
And bring some covering for this naked soul, 
Which I '11 entreat to lead me. 

Old Man. Alack, sir, he is mad. 

Gloster. 'T is the times' plague, when madmen lead 
the blind. 
Do as I bid thee, or rather do thy pleasure ; 
Above the rest, be gone. 

Old Man. I '11 bring him the best 'parel that I have, 
Come on 't what will. [Exit. 

Gloster. Sirrah, naked fellow, — 51 

Edgar. Poor Tom 's a-cold. — [Aside] I cannot daub 
it further. 



Scene I] King Lear 113 

Gloster. Come hither, fellow. 

Edgar. [Aside] And yet I must. — Bless thy sweet 
eyes, they bleed. 

Gloster. Know'st thou the way to Dover ? 

Edgar. Both stile and gate, horse-way and foot- 
path. Poor Tom had been scared out of his good 
wits. Bless thee, good man's son, from the foul 
fiend ! Five fiends have been in poor Tom at once ; 
of lust, as Obidicut ; Hobbididence, prince of dumb- 60 
ness ; Mahu, of stealing ; Modo, of murther ; Flib- 
bertigibbet, of mopping and mowing, who since 
possesses chambermaids and waiting-women. So, 
bless thee, master ! 

Gloster. Here, take this purse, thou whom the 
heaven's plagues 
Have humbled to all strokes ; that I am wretched 
Makes thee the happier. — Heavens, deal so still ! 
Let the superfluous and lust-dieted man, 
That slaves your ordinance, that will not see 
Because he does not feel, feel your power quickly ; 70 
So distribution should undo excess, 
And each man have enough. — Dost thou know Dover? 

Edgar. Ay, master. 

Gloster. There is a cliff whose high and bending head 
Looks fearfully in the confined deep : 
Bring me but to the very brim of it, 
And I '11 repair the misery thou dost bear 
With something rich about me ; from that place 
I shall no leading need. 

KING LEAR — 8 



114 King Lear [Act IV 

Edgar. Give me thy arm ; 

Poor Tom shall lead thee. [Exeunt. 

Scene II. Before the Duke of Albany 1 s Palace 

Enter Goneril and Edmund 

Goneril. Welcome, my lord ; I marvel our mild hus- 
band 
Not met us on the way. — 

Enter Oswald 

Now, where 's your master ? 

Oswald. Madam, within ; but never man so chang'd. 
I told him of the army that was landed ; 
He smil'd at it. I told him you were coming ; 
His answer was, ' The worse.' Of Gloster's treachery, 
And of the loyal service of his son, 
When I inform'd him, then he call'd me sot, 
And told me I had turn'd the wrong side out. 
What most he should dislike seems pleasant to him ; 10 
What like, offensive. 

Goneril. [To Edmund~\ Then shall you go no further. 
It is the cowish terror of his spirit, 
That dares not undertake ; he '11 not feel wrongs 
Which tie him to an answer. Our wishes on the way 
May prove effects. Back, Edmund, to my brother ; 
Hasten his musters and conduct his powers. 
I must change arms at home, and give the distaff 
Into my husband's hands. This trusty servant 



Scene ii] King Lear 115 

Shall pass between us ; ere long you are like to hear, 
If you dare venture in your own behalf, 20 

A mistress's command. Wear this ; spare speech. 

[Giving a favour. 
Decline your head ; this kiss, if it durst speak, 
Would stretch thy spirits up into the air. 
Conceive, and fare thee well. 

Edmund. Yours in the ranks of death. 

Goneril. My most dear Gloster ! 

[Exit Edmund. 
O, the difference of man and man ! 
To thee a woman's services are due ; 
My fool usurps my body. 

Oswald. Madam, here comes my lord. 

[Exit. 
Enter Albany 

Goneril. I have been worth the whistle. 

Albany. O Goneril ! 

You are not worth the dust which the rude wind 30 

Blows in your face. I fear your disposition. 
That nature which contemns it origin 
Cannot be border'd certain in itself ; 
She that herself will sliver and disbranch 
From her material sap perforce must wither 
And come to deadly use. 

Goneril. No more ; the text is foolish. 

Albany. Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile ; 
Filths savour but themselves. What have you done ? 
Tigers, not daughters, what have you perform'd ? 40 



n6 King Lear [Activ 

A father, and a gracious aged man, 

Whose reverence even the head-lugg'd bear would lick, 

Most barbarous, most degenerate ! have you madded. 

Could my good brother suffer you to do it ? 

A man, a prince, by him so benefited ! 

If that the heavens do not their visible spirits 

Send quickly down to tame these vile offences, 

It will come, 

Humanity must perforce prey on itself, 

Like monsters of the deep. 

Goneril. Milk-liver'd man ! 50 

That bear'st a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs ; 
Who hast not in thy brows an eye discerning 
Thine honour from thy suffering ; that not know'st 
Fools do those villains pity who are punish 'd 
Ere they have done their mischief, — where 's thy 

drum? 
France spreads his banners in our noiseless land, 
With plumed helm thy state begins to threat, 
Whilst thou, a moral fool, sit'st still and criest 
1 Alack, why does he so ? ' 

Albany. See thyself, devil ! 

Proper deformity seems not in the fiend 60 

So horrid as in woman. 

Goneril. O vain fool ! 

Albany. Thou changed and self-cover 'd thing, for 
shame, 
Be-monster not thy feature. Were 't my fitness 
To let these hands obey my blood, 



Scene II] King Lear 117 

They are apt enough to dislocate and tear 

Thy flesh and bones. Howe'er thou art a fiend, 

A woman's shape doth shield thee. 

Goneril. Marry, your manhood now ! — 

Enter a Messenger 

Albany. What news ? 

Messenger. O, my good lord, the Duke of Corn- 
wall 's dead ; 7° 
Slain by his servant, going to put out 
The other eye of Gloster. 

Albany. Gloster's eyes ! 

Messenger. A servant that he bred, thrill'd with re- 
morse, 
Oppos'd against the act, bending his sword 
To his great master, who thereat enrag'd 
Flew on him and amongst them fell'd him dead, 
But not without that harmful stroke which since 
Hath pluck'd him after. 

Albany. This shows you are above, 

You justicers, that these our nether crimes 
So speedily can venge ! — But, O poor Gloster ! 80 

Lost he his other eye ? 

Messenger. Both, both, my lord. — 

This letter, madam, craves a speedy answer ; 
'T is from your sister. 

Goneril. [Aside] One way I like this well ; 

But being widow, and my Gloster with her, 
May all the building in my fancy pluck 



1 1 8 King Lear [Act iv 

Upon my hateful life : another way, 

The news is not so tart. — I '11 read and answer. [Exit. 

Albany. Where was his son when they did take his 
eyes ? 

Messenger. Come with my lady hither. 

Albany. He is not here. 

Messenger. No, my good lord ; I met him back 
again. 90 

Albany. Knows he the wickedness ? 

Messenger. Ay, my good lord ; 't was he inform 'd 
against him, 
And quit the house on purpose, that their punishment 
Might have the freer course. 

Albany. Gloster, I live 

To thank thee for the love thou show'dst the king, 
And to revenge thine eyes. — Come hither, friend ; 
Tell me what more thou know'st. [Exeunt. 

Scene III. The French Camp near Dover 
E7iter Kent and a Gentleman 

Kent. Why the King of France is so suddenly 
gone back, know you the reason ? 

Gentleman. Something he left imperfect in the 
state which since his coming forth is thought of, 
which imports to the kingdom so much fear and dan- 
ger that his personal return was most required and 
necessary. 

Kent. Who hath he left behind him general ? 



Scene Hi] King Lear 119 

• 

Gentleman. The Marshal of France, Monsieur La 
Far. 10 

Kent. Did your letters pierce the queen to any 
demonstration of grief ? 

Gentleman. Ay, sir ; she took them, read them in 
my presence, 
And now and then an ample tear trill'd down 
Her delicate cheek. It seem'd she was a queen 
Over her passion, who most rebel-like 
Sought to be king o'er her. 

Kent. O, then it mov'd her. 

Gentle?nan. Not to a rage ; patience and sorrow 
strove 
Who should express her goodliest. You have seen 
Sunshine and rain at once : her smiles and tears 20 
Were like a better way ; those happy smilets 
That play'd on her ripe lip seem'd not to know 
What guests were in her eyes, which parted thence 
As pearls from diamonds dropp'd. In brief, 
Sorrow would be a rarity most belov'd, 
If all could so become it. 

Kent. Made she no verbal question ? 

Gentleman. Faith, once or twice she heav'd the name 
of father 
Pantingly forth, as if it press 'd her heart ; 
Cried ' Sisters ! sisters ! Shame of ladies ! sisters ! 
Kent ! father ! sisters ! What, i' the storm ? i' the 
night ? 30 

Let pity not be believ'd ! ' There she shook 



1 20 King Lear [Act IV 

The holy water from her heavenly eyes, 

And, clamour-moisten 'd, then away she started 

To deal with grief alone. 

Kent. It is the stars, 

The stars above us, govern our conditions ; 
Else one self mate and mate could not beget 
Such different issues. — You spoke not with her since ? 

Gentleman. No. 

Kent. Was this before the king return'd ? 

Gentleman. No, since. 

Kent. Well, sir, the poor distressed Lear 's i' the 
town, 40 

Who sometime in his better tune remembers 
What we are come about, and by no means 
Will yield to see his daughter. 

Gentleman. Why, good sir ? 

Ke?it. A sovereign shame so elbows him ; his own 
unkindness, 
That stripp'd her from his benediction, turn'd her 
To foreign casualties, gave her dear rights 
To his dog-hearted daughters, — these things sting 
His mind so venomously that burning shame 
Detains him from Cordelia. 

Gentleman. Alack, poor gentleman ! 

Kent. Of Albany's and Cornwall's powers you heard 
not ? 50 

Gentleman. 'T is so, they are afoot. 

Kent. Well, sir, I '11 bring you to our master Lear, 
And leave you to attend him. Some dear cause 



Scene IV] King Lear 121 

Will in concealment wrap me up awhile ; 
When I am known aright, you shall not grieve 
Lending me this acquaintance. I pray you, go 
Along with me. [Exeunt. 

Scene IV. The Same. A Tent 

Enter, with drum and colours, Cordelia, Doctor, and 

Soldiers 

Cordelia. Alack, 't is he ! Why, he was met even 
now 
As mad as the vex'd sea ; singing aloud, 
Crown 'd with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds, 
With burdocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, 
Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow 
In our sustaining corn. — A century send forth ; 
Search every acre in the high-grown field, 
And bring him to our eye. — [Exit an Officer.'] — What 

can man's wisdom 
In the restoring his bereaved sense ? 
He that helps him take all my outward worth. 10 

Doctor. There is means, madam. 
Our foster-nurse of nature is repose, 
The which he lacks ; that to provoke in him, 
Are many simples operative whose power 
Will close the eye of anguish. 

Cordelia. All blest secrets, 

All you unpublish'd virtues of the earth, 
Spring with my tears ! be aidant and remediate 



122 King Lear [Act iv 

In the good man's distress ! — Seek, seek for him, 
Lest his ungovern'd rage dissolve the life 
That wants the means to lead it. 

Enter a Messenger 

Messenger. News, madam ; 20 

The British powers are marching hitherward. 

Cordelia. 'T is known before ; our preparation stands 
In expectation of them. — O dear father, 
It is thy business that I go about ; 
Therefore great France 

My mourning and important tears hath pitied. 
No blown ambition doth our arms incite, 
But love, dear love, and our aged father's right ; 
Soon may I hear and see him ! [Exeunt. 

-Scene V. Gloster's Castle 

Enter Regan and Oswald 

Regan. But are my brother's powers set forth? 
Oswald. Ay, madam. 

Regan. Himself in person there ? 
Oswald. Madam, with much ado ; 

Your sister is the better soldier. 

Regan. Lord Edmund spake not with your lord at 

home ? 
Oswald. No, madam. 

Regan. What might import my sister's letter to him ? 
Oswald. I know not, lady. 



Scene V] King Lear 1 23 

Regan. Faith, he is posted hence on serious matter. 
It was great ignorance, Gloster's eyes being out, 
To let him live ; where he arrives he moves 10 

All hearts against us. Edmund, I think, is gone, 
In pity of his misery, to dispatch 
His nighted life ; moreover, to descry 
The strength o' the enemy. 

Oswald. I must needs after him, madam, with my 
letter. 

Regan. Our troops set forth to-morrow ; stay with us. 
The ways are dangerous. 

Oswald. I may not, madam ; 

My lady charg'd my duty in this business. 

Regan. Why should she write to Edmund? Might 
not you 
Transport her purposes by word ? Belike, 20 

Some things — I know not what. I '11 love thee much, — 
Let me unseal the letter. 

Oswald. Madam, I had rather — 

Regan. I know your lady does not love her husband, 
I am sure of that ; and at her late being here 
She gave strange ceillades and most speaking looks 
To noble Edmund. I know you are of her bosom. 

Oswald. I, madam ? 

Regan. I speak in understanding ; you are, I know 't. 
Therefore I do advise you, take this note. 
My lord is dead ; Edmund and I have talk'd, 30 

And more convenient is he for my hand 
Than for your lady's ; you may gather more. 



124 King Lear [Act iv 

If you do find him, pray you, give him this ; 

And when your mistress hears thus much from you, 

I pray, desire her call her wisdom to her. 

So, fare you well. 

If you do chance to hear of that blind traitor, 

Preferment falls on him that cuts him off. 

Oswald. Would I could meet him, madam ! I should 
show 39 

What party I do follow. 

Regan. Fare thee well. \_Exeunt, 

Scene VI. Fields near Dover 
Enter Gloster, and Edgar dressed like a peasant 

Gloster. When shall I come to the top of that same 
hill? 

Edgar. You do climb up it now ; look, how we labour. 

Gloster. Methinks the ground is even. 

Edgar. Horrible steep. 

Hark, do you hear the sea ? 

Gloster. No, truly. 

Edgar. Why, then, your other senses grow imperfect 
By your eyes' anguish. 

Gloster. So may it be indeed ; 

Methinks thy voice is alter'd, and thou speak'st 
In better phrase and matter than thou didst. 

Edgar. You 're much deceiv'd ; in nothing am I 
chang'd 
But in my garments. 



Scene vi] King Lear 125 

Gloster. Methinks you 5 re better-spoken. 10 

Edgar. Come on, sir ; here 's the place. Stand still. 
How fearful 
And dizzy 't is to cast one's eyes so low ! 
The crows and choughs that wing the midway air 
Show scarce so gross as beetles. Half way down 
Hangs one that gathers sampire, dreadful trade ! 
Methinks he seems no bigger than his head. 
The fishermen that walked upon the beach 
Appear like mice ; and yond tall anchoring bark 
Diminish'd to her cock ; her cock, a buoy 
Almost too small for sight. The murmuring surge, 20 
That on the unnumber'd idle pebble chafes, 
Cannot be heard so high. I '11 look no more, 
Lest my brain turn and the deficient sight 
Topple down headlong. 

Gloster. Set me where you stand. 

Edgar. Give me your hand. You are now within a foot 
Of the extreme verge. For all beneath the moon 
Would I not leap upright. 

Gloster. Let go my hand. 

Here, friend, 's another purse ; in it a jewel 
Well worth a poor man's taking; fairies and gods 
Prosper it with thee ! Go thou further off ; 30 

Bid me farewell, and let me hear thee going. 

Edgar. Now fare ye well, good sir. 

Gloster. • With all my heart. 

Edgar. [Aside] Why I do trifle thus with his despair 
Is done to cure it. 



126 King Lear [Act iv 

Gloster. [Kneeling] O you mighty gods ! 
This world I do renounce, and in your sights 
Shake patiently my great affliction off. 
If I could bear it longer, and not fall 
To quarrel with your great opposeless wills, 
My snuff and loathed part of nature should 
Burn itself out. If Edgar live, O bless him ! — 40 

Now, fellow, fare thee well. 

Edgar. Gone, sir ; farewell. — 

[He falls forward. 
[Aside] And yet I know not how conceit may rob 
The treasury of life, when life itself 
Yields to the theft. Had he been where he thought, 
By this had thought been past. Alive or dead ? — 
Ho, you sir ! friend ! Hear you, sir ! speak ! — 
[Aside] Thus might he pass indeed ; yet he revives. — 
What are you, sir ? 

Gloster. Away, and let me die. 

Edgar. Hadst thou been aught but gossamer, 
feathers, air, 
So many fathom down precipitating, 50 

Thou 'dst shiver 'd like an egg ; but thou dost breathe, 
Hast heavy substance, bleed'st not, speak'st, art sound. 
Ten masts at each make not the altitude 
Which thou hast perpendicularly fell ; 
Thy life 's a miracle. Speak yet again. 

Gloster. But have I fallen, or no ? 

Edgar. From the dread summit of this chalky 
bourn. 



Scene vi] King Lear 127 

Look up a-height ; the shrill-gorg'd lark so far 
Cannot be seen or heard. Do but look up. 

Gloster. Alack, I have no eyes. 60 

Is wretchedness depriv'd that benefit, 
To end itself by death ? 'T was yet some comfort, 
When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage, 
And frustrate his proud will. 

Edgar. Give me your arm. 

Up ; so. How is 't ? Feel you your legs ? You 
stand. 

Gloster. Too well, too well. 

Edgar. This is above all strangeness. 

Upon the crown o' the cliff, what thing was that 
Which parted from you ? 

Gloster. A poor unfortunate beggar. 

Edgar. As I stood here below, methought his 
eyes 
Were two full moons ; he had a thousand noses, 70 

Horns whelk'd and wav'd like the enridged sea. 
It was some fiend ; therefore, thou happy father, 
Think that the clearest gods, who make them honours 
Of men's impossibilities, have preserv'd thee. 

Gloster. I do remember now. Henceforth I '11 
bear 
Affliction till it do cry out itself 
\ Enough, enough,' and die. That thing you speak 

of, 
I took it for a man ; often 't would say 
1 The fiend, the fiend : ' he led me to that place. 



128 King Lear [Act IV 

Edgar. Bear free and patient thoughts. — But who 
comes here ? 80 



Enter Lear, fantastically dressed with wild flowers 

The safer sense will ne'er accommodate 
His master thus. 

Lear. No, they cannot touch me for coining; I 
am the king himself. 

Edgar. O thou side-piercing sight ! 

Lear. Nature 's above art in that respect. — 
There's 3^our press-money. — That fellow handles his 
bow like a crow-keeper. — Draw me a clothier's 
yard. — Look, look, a mouse ! Peace, peace ; this 
piece of toasted cheese will do 't. — There 's my 90 
gauntlet ; I '11 prove it on a giant. — Bring up the 
brown bills. — O, well flown, bird ! i' the clout, i' the 
clout ! hewgh ! — Give the -word. 

Edgar. Sweet marjoram. 

Lear. Pass. 

Gloster. I know that voice. 

Lear. Ha ! Goneril, — with a white beard ! — They 
flattered me like a dog ; and told me I had white hairs 
in my beard ere the black ones were there. To say 
ay and no to every thing that I said ! Ay and no 100 
too was no good divinity. When the rain came to 
wet me once and the wind to make me chatter, when 
the thunder would not peace at my bidding, there I 
found 'em, there I smelt 'em out. Go to, they are 



Scene vi] King Lear 129 

not men o' their words : they told me I was every- 
thing ; 't is a lie, I am not ague-proof. 

Gloster. The trick of that voice I do well remember. 
Is 't not the king ? 

Lear. Ay, every inch a king. 

When I do stare, see how the subject quakes. — 
I pardon that man's life. — What was thy cause ? no 
Adultery ? 

Thou shalt not die. Die for adultery ? No ; 
For Gloster's bastard son 

Was kinder to his father than my daughters. — 
Give me an ounce of civet, good apothecary, to 
sweeten my imagination ; there 's money for thee. 

Gloster. O, let me kiss that hand ! 

Lear. Let me wipe it first ; it smells of mortality. 

Gloster. O ruin'd piece of nature ! This great world 
Shall so wear out to nought. Dost thou know me ? 120 

Lear. I remember thine eyes well enough. Dost 
thou squiny at me ? No, do thy worst, blind Cupid ; 
I '11 not love. Read thou this challenge ; mark but 
the penning of it. 

Gloster. Were all thy letters suns, I could not see. 

Edgar. [Aside] I would not take this from report ; 
it is, 
And my heart breaks at it. 

Lear. Read. 

Gloster. What, with the case of eyes ? 

Lear. Oh, ho, are you there with me ? No eyes 130 
in your head, nor no money in your purse ? Your 

KING LEAR — 9 



i jo King Lear [Act IV 

eyes are in a heavy case, your purse in a light ; yet 
you see how this world goes. 

Gloster. I see it feelingly. 

Lear. What, art mad ? A man may see how this 
world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears ; see 
how yond justice rails upon yond simple thief. Hark, 
in thine ear ; change places, and, handy-dandy, which 
is the justice, which is the thief ? Thou hast seen 
a farmer's dog bark at a beggar ? 140 

Gloster. Ay, sir. 

Lear. And the creature run from the cur ? There 
thou mightst behold the great image of authority ; a 
dog 's obeyed in office. — 
The usurer hangs the cozener. 
/Through tatter 'd clothes great vices do appear ; 
Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, 
! And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks ; 
Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw does pierce it. 
None does offend, none, I say, none ; I '11 able 'em. 150 
Take that of me, my friend, who have the power 
To seal the accuser's lips. Get thee glass eyes ; 
And, like a scurvy politician, seem 
To see the things thou dost not. — 
Now, now, now, now ; pull off my boots. Harder, 
harder : so. 

Edgar. [Aside] O, matter and impertinency mix'd ! 
Reason in madness ! 

Lear. If thou wilt weep my fortunes, take my eyes. 
I know thee well enough ; thy name is Gloster. 



Scene vi] King Lear 131 

Thou must be patient ; we came crying hither. 160 

Thou know'st, the first time that we smell the air, 
We wawl and cry. I will preach to thee ; mark. 

Gloster. Alack, alack the day ! 

Lear. When we are born, we cry that we are come 
To this great stage of fools. This' a good block ; 
It were a delicate stratagem, to shoe 
A troop of horse with felt. I '11 put 't in proof ; 
And when I have stolen upon these sons-in-law, 
Then, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill ! 

Enter a Gentleman, with Attendants 

Gentleman. O, here he is ; lay hand upon him. — Sir, 
Your most dear daughter — 171 

Lear. No rescue ? What, a prisoner ? I am even 
The natural fool of fortune. Use me well ; 
You shall have ransom. Let me have a surgeon ; 
I am cut to the brains. 

Gentleman. You shall have any thing. 

Lear. No seconds ? all myself ? 
Why, this would make a man a man of salt, 
To use his eyes for garden water-pots, 
Ay, and laying autumn's dust. 

Gentleman. Good sir, — 180 

Lear. I will die bravely, like a smug bridegroom. 
What! 
I will be jovial. Come, come ; I am king, 
My masters, know you that ? 

Gentleman. You are a royal one, and we obey you. 



132 King Lear [Act iv 

Lear. Then there 's life in 't. Come, an you get 
it, you shall get it by running. Sa, sa, sa, sa. 

[Exit running ; Attendants follow. 

Gentleman. A sight most pitiful in the meanest wretch, 
Past speaking of in a king ! Thou hast one daughter, 
Who redeems nature from the general curse 
Which twain have brought her to. 190 

Edgar. Hail, gentle sir. 

Gentleman. Sir, speed you ; what 's your will ? 

Edgar. Do you hear aught, sir, of a battle toward ? 

Gentleman. Most sure and vulgar ; every one hears 
that, 
Which can distinguish sound. 

Edgar. But, by your favour, 

How near 's the other army ? 

Gentleman. Near and on speedy foot; the main 
descry 
Stands on the hourly thought. 

Edgar. I thank you, sir ; that 's all. 

Gentleman. Though that the queen on special cause 
is here, . 
Her army is mov'd on. 

Edgar. I thank you, sir. [Exit Gentleman. 

Gloster. You ever-gentle gods, take my breath from 
me ; 200 

Let not my worser spirit tempt me again 
To die before you please ! 

Edgar. Well pray you, father. 

Gloster. Now, good sir, what are you ? 



Scene VI] King Lear 133 

Edgar. A most poor man, made tame to fortune's 
blows, 
Who, by the art of known and feeling sorrows, 
Am pregnant to good pity. Give me your hand, 
I '11 lead you to some biding. 

Gloster. Hearty thanks ; 

The bounty and the benison of heaven 

To boot, and boot ! 

Enter Oswald 

Oswald. A proclaim'd prize ! Most happy ! 

That eyeless head of thine was first fram'd flesh 210 
To raise my fortunes. — Thou old unhappy traitor, 
Briefly thyself remember ; the sword is out 
That must destroy thee. 

Gloster. Now let thy friendly hand 

Put strength enough to 't. [Edgar interposes. 

Oswald. Wherefore, bold peasant, 

Darest thou support a publish 'd traitor ? Hence ! 
Lest that the infection of his fortune take 
Like hold on thee. Let go his arm. 

Edgar. Chill not let go, zir, without vurther 'casion. 

Oswald. Let go, slave, or thou diest ! 

Edgar. Good gentleman, go your gait, and let poor 220 
volk pass. An chud ha' bin zwaggered out of my 
life, 't would not ha' bin zo long as 't is by a vort- 
night. Nay, come not near th' old man ; keep out, 
che vor ye, or ise try whether your costard or my 
ballow be the harder ; chill be plain with you. 

Oswald. Out, dunghill ! \ They fight. 



134 King Lear [Act iv 

Edgar. Chill pick your teeth, zir. Come ; no 
matter vor your foins. [Oswald falls. 

Oswald. Slave, thou hast slain me. Villain, take my 
purse : 
If ever thou wilt thrive, bury my body, 230 

And give the letters which thou find'st about me 
To Edmund Earl of Gloster ; seek him out 
Upon the English party. — O, untimely death ! 
Death ! [Dies. 

Edgar. I know thee well ; a serviceable villain, 
As duteous to the vices of thy mistress 
As badness would desire. 

Gloster. What, is he dead ? 

Edgar. Sit you down, father ; rest you. — 
Let's see these pockets ; the letters that he speaks of 
May be my friends. He 's dead ; I am only sorry 240 
He had no other deathsman. Let us see : 
Leave, gentle wax ; and, manners, blame us not. 
To know our enemies' minds, we 'd rip their hearts ; 
Their papers, is more lawful. 

[Reads] ' Let our reciprocal vows be remembered. 
You have many opportunities to cut him off; if you 
will want not, time and place will be fruitfully offered. 
There is nothing done, if he return the conqueror ; then 
am I the prisoner, and his bed my gaol, from the loathed 
warmth whereof deliver me and supply the place for '250 
your labour. 

1 Your — wife, so I would say — affectionate servant, 

'GONERIL.' 



Scene vii] King Lear 135 

O indistinguish'd space of woman's will ! 

A plot upon her virtuous husband's life ! 

And the exchange my brother ! — Here, in the sands, 

Thee I '11 rake up, the post unsanctified 

Of murtherous lechers, and in the mature time 

With this ungracious paper strike the sight 

Of the death-practis'd duke. For him 't is well 260 

That of thy death and business I can tell. 

Gloster. The king is mad. How stiff is my vile 
.sense, 
That I stand up and have ingenious feeling 
Of my huge sorrows ! Better I were distract ; 
So should my thoughts be sever'd from my griefs, 
And woes by wrong imaginations lose 
The knowledge of themselves. \Drum afar off. 

Edgar. Give me your hand ; 

Far off, methinks, I hear the beaten drum. 
Come, father, I '11 bestow you with a friend. [Exeunt. 

Scene VII. A Tent in the French Camp. Lear on a 
bed asleep ', soft music playing; Gentleman and others 
attending 

Enter Cordelia, Kent, and Doctor 

Cordelia. O thou good Kent, how shall I live and 
work, 
To match thy goodness ? My life will be too short, 
And every measure fail me. 

Kent. To be acknowledg'd, madam, is o'er-paid. 



136 King Lear [Act IV 

All my reports go with the modest truth, 
Nor more nor clipp'd, but so. 

Cordelia. Be better suited ; 

These weeds are memories of those worser hours. 
I prithee, put them off. 

Kent. Pardon, dear madam ; 

Yet to be known shortens my made intent. 
My boon I make it, that you know me not 10 

Till time and I think meet. 

Cordelia. Then be 't so, my good lord. — How does 
the king ? 

Doctor. Madam, sleeps still. 

Cordelia. O you kind gods, 
Cure this great breach in his abused nature ! 
The untun'd and jarring senses, O wind up 
Of this child-changed father ! 

Doctor. So please your majesty 

That we may wake the king ? he hath slept long. 

Cordelia. Be govern'd by your knowledge, and pro- 
ceed 
I' the sway of your own will. — Is he array 'd ? 20 

Gentleman. Ay, madam ; in the heaviness of sleep 
We put fresh garments on him. 

Doctor. Be by, good madam, when we do awake him ; 
I doubt not of his temperance. 

Cordelia. Very well. 

Doctor. Please you, draw near. — Louder the music 
there ! 

Cordelia. O my dear father ! Restoration hang 



Scene vii] King Lear 137 

Thy medicine on my lips, and let this kiss 
Repair those violent harms that my two sisters 
Have in thy reverence made ! 

Kent. Kind and dear princess ! 

Cordelia. Had you not been their father, these white 
flakes 30 

Did challenge pity of them. Was this a face 
To be oppos'd against the warring winds ? 
To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder ? 
In the most terrible and nimble stroke 
Of quick, cross lightning ? to watch — poor perdu ! — 
With this thin helm ? Mine enemy's dog, 
Though he had bit me, should have stood that night 
Against my fire ; and wast thou fain, poor father, 
To hovel thee with swine and rogues forlorn, 
In short and musty straw ? Alack, alack ! 40 

'T is wonder that thy life and wits at once 
Had not concluded all. — He wakes ; speak to him. 

Doctor. Madam, do you ; 't is fittest. 

Cordelia. How does my royal lord ? How fares your 
majesty ? 

Lear. You do me wrong to take me out o' the grave. 
Thou art a soul in bliss ; but I am bound 
Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears 
Do scald like molten lead. 

Cordelia. Sir, do you know me ? 

Lear. You are a spirit, I know • when did you die ? 

Cordelia. Still, still, far wide ! 50 

Doctor. He 's scarce awake ; let him alone awhile. 



138 King Lear [Act iv 

Lear. Where have I been ? Where am I ? Fair 
daylight ? 
I am mightily abus'd. I should e'en die with pity, 
To see another thus. I know not what to say. 
I will not swear these are my hands. Let 's see ; 
I feel this pin prick. . Would I were assur'd 
Of my condition ! 

Cordelia. O, look upon me, sir, " 

And hold your hands in benediction o'er me. 
No, sir, you must not kneel. 

Lear. Pray, do not mock me. 

I am a very foolish fond old man, 60 

Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less ; 
And, to deal plainly, 
I fear I am not in my perfect mind. 
Methinks I should know you and know this man ; 
Yet I am doubtful : for I am mainly ignorant 
What place this is, and all the skill I have 
Remembers not these garments, nor I know not 
Where I did lodge last night. Do not laugh at me ; 
For, as I am a man, I think this lady 
To be my child Cordelia. 

Cordelia. And so I am, I am ! 70 

Lear. Be your tears wet ? yes, faith. I pray, weep 
not. 
If you have poison for me, I will drink it. 
I know you do not love me, for your sisters 
Have, as I do remember, done me wrong ; 
You have some cause, they have not. 



Scene vii] King Lear 139 

Cordelia, No cause, no cause ! 

Lear. Am I in France ? 

Kent. In your own kingdom, sir. 

Lear. Do not abuse me. 

Doctor. Be comforted, good madam : the great rage, 
You see, is kill'd in him ; and yet 't is danger 
To make him even o'er the time he has lost. 80 

Desire him to go in ; trouble him no more 
Till further settling. 

Cordelia. Will 't please your highness walk ? 

Lear. You must bear with me. Pray you now, 
forget and forgive ; I am old and foolish. 

[Exeunt all but Kent and Gentlema?t. 

Gentleman. Holds it true, sir, that the Duke of 
Cornwall was so slain ? 

Kent. Most certain, sir. 

Gentleman. Who is conductor of his people ? 

Kent. As 't is said, the bastard son of Gloster. 90 

Gentleman. They say Edgar, his banished son, is 
with the Earl of Kent in Germany. 

Kent. Report is changeable. 'T is time to look 
about ; the powers of the kingdom approach apace. 

Gentleman. The arbitrement is like to be bloody. 
Fare you well, sir. [Exit. 

Kent. My point and period will be throughly 
wrought, 
Or well or ill, as this day's battle 's fought. [Exit. 




Dover Castle 



ACT V 



Scene I. The British Camp, near Dover 

Enter, with drum and colours, Edmund, Regan, Gen- 
tlemen, and Soldiers 

Edmund. Know of the duke if his last purpose hold, 
Or whether since he is advis'd by aught 
To change the course. He 's full of alteration 
And self-reproving. Bring his constant pleasure. 

[To a Gentleman, who goes out. 
Regan. Our sister's man is certainly miscarried. 
Edmund. 'T is to be doubted, madam. 

140 



Scene I] King Lear 141 

Regan. Now, sweet lord, 

You know the goodness I intend upon you ; 
Tell me — but truly — but then speak the truth, 
Do you not love my sister ? 

Edmund. In honour'd love. 

Regan. But have you never found my brother's 
way 10 

To the forfended place ? 

Edmund. That thought abuses you. 

Regan. I am doubtful that you have been conjunct 
And bosom'd with her, as far as we call hers. 

Edmund. No, by mine honour, madam. 

Regan. I never shall endure her. Dear my lord, 
Be not familiar -with her. 

Edmund. * Fear me not. — 

She and the duke her husband ! 



Enter, with drum and colours, Albany, Goneril, and 

Soldiers 

Goneril. [Aside] I had rather lose the battle than 
that sister 
Should loosen him and me. 

Albany. Our very loving sister, well be-met. — 20 
Sir, this I hear : the king is come to his daughter, 
With others whom the rigour of our state 
Forc'd to cry out. Where I could not be honest, 
I never yet was valiant ; for this business, 
It toucheth us, as France invades our land, 



142 King Lear [Act V 

Not bolds the king, with others, whom, I fear, 
Most just and heavy causes make oppose. 

Edmund. Sir, you speak nobly. 

Regan. Why is this reason 'd ? 

Goneril. Combine together 'gainst the enemy ; 
For these domestic and particular broils 30 

Are not the question here. 

Albany. Let 's then determine 

With the ancient of war on our proceeding. 

Edmund. I shall attend you presently at your 
tent. 

Regan. Sister, you '11 go with us ? 

Gonerii. No. 

Regan. 'T is most convenient; pray you, go with 
us. 

Goneril. [Aside] O, ho, I know the riddle ! — I will 

As they are going out, enter Edgar disguised 

Edgar. If e'er your grace had speech with man so 
poor, 
Hear me one word. 

Albany. I '11 overtake you. — Speak. 

\Exeunt all but Albany and Edgar. 

Edgar. Before you fight the battle, ope this letter. 40 
If you have victory, let the trumpet sound 
For him that brought it ; wretched though I seem, 
I can produce a champion that will prove 
What is avouched there. If you miscarry, 



Scene I] King Lear 143 

Your business of the world hath so an end, 
And machination ceases. Fortune love you ! 
. Albany. Stay till I have read the letter. 
Edgar. I was forbid it. 

When time shall serve, let but the herald cry, 
And I '11 appear again. 49 

Albany. Why, fare thee well ; I will o'erlook thy 
paper. [Exit Edgar. 

Re-enter Edmund 

Edmund. The enemy 's in view; draw up your 
powers. 
Here is the guess of their true strength and forces 
By diligent discovery ; but your haste 
Is now urg'd on you. 

Albany. We will greet the time. [Exit. 

Edmund. To both these sisters have I sworn my 
love ; 
Each jealous of the other, as the stung 
Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take ? 
Both ? one ? or neither ? Neither can be enjoy'd, 
If both remain alive. To take the widow 
Exasperates, makes mad her sister Goneril ; 60 

And hardly shall I carry out my side, 
Her husband being alive. Now then we '11 use 
His countenance for the battle ; which being done, 
Let her who would be rid of him devise 
His speedy taking-off . As for the mercy 
Which he intends to Lear and to Cordelia, — 



144 King Lear [Act v 

The battle done, and they within our power, 

Shall never see his pardon ; for my state 

Stands on me to defend, not to debate. {Exit. 



Scene II. A Field between the two Camps 

Alarum within. Enter, with drum and colours, Lear, 
Cordelia, and Soldiers, over the stage ; and exeunt 

. Enter Edgar and Gloster 

Edgar. Here, father, take the shadow of this tree 
For your good host ; pray that the right may thrive. 
If ever I return to you again, 
I '11 bring you comfort. 

Gloster. Grace go with you, sir ! 

[Exit Edgar. 

Alarum and retreat within. Re-enter Edgar 

Edgar. Away, old man, give me thy hand ; away ! 
King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta'en. 
Give me thy hand ; come on. 

Gloster. No further, sir ; a man may rpt even here. 

Edgar. What, in ill thoughts again ?( Men must en- 
dure 
Their going hence, even as their coming hither j 10 

Ripeness is all.) Come on. 

Gloster. And that 's true too. 

[Exeunt. 



Scene in] King Lear 145 



Scene III. The British Camp near Dover 

E?iter, in conquest, with drum and colours, Edmund ; 
Lear and Cordelia, prisoners ; Captain, Soldiers, 
etc. 

Edmund. Some officers take them away ; good guard, 
Until their greater pleasures first be known 
That are to censure them. 

Cordelia. We are not the first 

Who, with best meaning, have incurr'd the worst. 
For thee, oppressed king, I am cast down ; 
Myself could else out-frown false fortune's frown. 
Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters ? 

Lear. No, no, no, no ! Come, let 's away to 
prison ; 
We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage. 
When thou dost ask me blessing, I '11 kneel down 10 
And ask of thee forgiveness. So we '11 live, 
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh 
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues 
Talk of court news ; and we '11 talk with them too, 
Who loses and who wins, who 's in, who 's out, 
And take upon 's the mystery of things, 
As if we were God's spies ; and we '11 wear out, 
In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones 
That ebb and flow by the moon. 

Edmund. Take them away. 

Lear. Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia, 20 

KING LEAR — IO 



146 King Lear [Act v 

The gods themselves throw incense. Have I caught 

thee? 
He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven, 
And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes ; 
The good-years shall devour them, flesh and fell, 
Ere they shall make us weep : we '11 see 'em starv'd first. 
Come. [Exeunt Lear and Cordelia , guarded. 

Edmund. Come hither, captain ; hark. 
Take thou this note [giving a paper] ; go follow them 

to prison. 
One step I have advanc'd thee ; if thou dost 
As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way 30 

To noble fortunes. Know thou this, that men 
Are as the time is ; to be tender-minded 
Does not become a sword. Thy great employment 
Will not bear question ; either say thou 'It do 't 
Or thrive by other means. 

Captain. I '11 do 't, my lord. 

Edmund. About it ; and write happy when thou hast 

done. 
Mark, — I say, instantly, and carry it so 
As I have set it down. 

Captain. I cannot draw a cart, nor eat dried oats ; 39 
If 't be man's work, I '11 do 't. [Exit. 

Flourish. Enter Albany, Goneril, Regan, another 
Captain, and Soldiers 

Albany. Sir, you have show'd to-day your valiant 
strain, 



Scene in] King Lear 147 

And fortune led you well ; you have the captives 
That were the opposites of this day's strife. 
I do require them of you, so to use them 
As we shall find their merits and our safety 
May equally determine. 

Edmund. Sir, I thought it fit 

To send the old and miserable king 
To some retention and appointed guard ; 
Whose age had charms in it, whose title more, 
To pluck the common bosom on his side, 50 

And turn our impress 'd lances in our eyes 
Which do command them. With him I sent the queen ; 
My reason all the same : and they are ready 
To-morrow, or at further space, to appear 
Where you shall hold your session. At this time 
We sweat and bleed ; the friend hath lost his friend, 
And the best quarrels, in the heat, are curs'd 
By those that feel their sharpness. 
The question of Cordelia and her father 
Requires a fitter place. 

Albany. • Sir, by your patience, 6q. 

I hold you but a subject of this war, 
Not as a brother. 

Regan. That 's as we list to grace him. 

Methinks our pleasure might have been demanded 
Ere you had spoke so far. He led our powers, 
Bore the commission of my place and person ; 
The which immediacy may well stand up, 
And call itself your brother. 



148 King Lear [Act V 

Goneril. Not so hot ; 

In his own grace he doth exalt himself 
More than in your addition. 

Regan. In my rights, 

By me invested, he compeers the best. 70 

Albany. That were the most, if he should husband 
you. 

Regan. Jesters do oft prove prophets. 

Goneril. Holla, holla ! 

That eye that told you so look'd but a-squint. 

Regan. Lady, I am not well ; else I should answer 
From a full-flowing stomach. — General, 
Take thou my soldiers, prisoners, patrimony : 
Dispose of them, of me ; the walls are thine. 
Witness the world, that I create thee here 
My lord and master. 

Goneril. Mean you to enjoy him ? 

Albany. The let-alone lies not in your good will. 80 

Edmund. Nor in thine, lord. 

Albany. Half -blooded fellow, yes. 

Regan. [To Edmund] Let the drum strike, and prove 
my title thine. 

Albany. Stay yet ; hear reason. — Edmund, I arrest 
thee 
On capital treason ; and, in thy arrest, 
This gilded serpent [pointing to Goneril]. — For your 

claim, fair sister, 
I bar it in the interest of my wife ; 
'T is she is sub-contracted to this lord, 



Scene Hi] King Lear 149 

And I, her husband, contradict your bans. 
If you will marry, make your loves to me ; 
My lady is bespoke. 

Goneril. An interlude ! 90 

Albany. Thou art arm'd, Gloster; let the trumpet 
sound. 
If none appear to prove upon thy person 
Thy heinous, manifest, and many treasons, 
There is my pledge [throwing down a glove]. I '11 prove 

it on thy heart, 
Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less 
Than I have here proclaim 'd thee. 

Regan. Sick, O, sick ! 

Goneril. {Aside] If not, I '11 ne'er trust medicine. 

Edmund. [Throwing down a glove] There 's my ex- 
change. What in the world he is 
That names me traitor, villain-like he lies. 
Call by thy trumpet ; he that dares approach, 100 

On him, on you, — who not ? — I will maintain 
My truth and honour firmly. 

Albany. A herald, ho ! 

Edmund. A herald, ho, a herald ! 

Albany. Trust to thy single virtue ; for thy sol- 
diers, 
All levied in my name, have in my name 
Took their discharge. 

Regan. My sickness grows upon me. 

Albany. She is not well. — Convey her to my tent. — 

[Exit Regan, led. 



150 King Lear [Act V 

Enter a Herald 

Come hither, herald. — Let the trumpet sound, — 
And read out this. 109 

Captain. Sound, trumpet ! [A trumpet sounds. 

Herald. [Reads] ' If any man of quality or degree 
within the lists of the army will maintai?i upon Ed- 
mund, supposed Earl of Gloster, that he is a manifold 
traitor, let him appear by the third sound of the trum- 
pet ; he is bold in his defence.'' 

Edmund. Sound ! [Eirst trumpet. 

Herald. Again ! [Second trumpet. 

Herald. Again 1 [Third trumpet. 

[Trumpet answers withi?t. 

Enter Edgar, at the third sound, armed, with a trumpet 

before him 

Albany. Ask him his purposes, why he appears 
Upon this call o' the trumpet. 

Herald. What are you ? 120 

Your name, your quality ? and why you answer 
This present summons ? 

Edgar. Know, my name is lost, 

By treason's tooth bare-gnawn and canker-bit ; 
Yet am I noble as the adversary 
I come to cope. 

Albany. Which is that adversary ? 

Edgar. What 's he that speaks for Edmund Earl of 
Gloster ? 



Scene III] King Lear 151 

Edmund. Himself ; what say'st thou to him ? 

Edgar. Draw thy sword, 

That, if my speech offend a noble heart, 
Thy arm may do thee justice ; here is mine. 
Behold, it is the privilege of mine honours, 130 

My oath, and my profession. I protest, — 
Maugre thy strength, place, youth, and eminence, 
Despite thy victor sword and fire-new fortune, 
Thy valour and thy heart, — thou art a traitor, 
False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father, 
Conspirant 'gainst this high illustrious prince, 
And, from the extremest upward of thy head 
To the descent and dust below thy foot, 
A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou ' No,' 
This sword, this arm, and my best spirits are bent 140 
To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak, 
Thou liest. 

Edmund. In wisdom I should ask thy name ; 
But, since thy outside looks so fair and warlike, 
And that thy tongue some say of breeding breathes, 
What safe and nicely I might well delay 
By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spurn. 
Back do I toss these treasons to thy head, 
With the hell-hated lie o'erwhelm thy heart ; 
Which, for they yet glance by and scarcely bruise, 150 
This sword of mine shall give them instant way, 
Where they shall rest for ever. — Trumpets, speak ! 

[Alarums. They fight. Edmund falls. 

Albany. Save him, save him ! 



152 King Lear [Act V 

Goneril. This is practice, Gloster ; 

By the law of arms thou wast not bound to answer 
An unknown opposite : thou art not vanquish'd, 
But cozen'd and beguil'd. 

Albany. Shut your mouth, dame, 

Or with this paper shall I stop it. — Hold, sir ; 
Thou worse than any name, read thine own evil. — 
No tearing, lady ; I perceive you know it. 

[Gives the letter to Edmund. 

Goneril. Say, if I do, the laws are mine, not thine. 
Who can arraign me for 't ? [Exit. 

Albany. Most monstrous ! O ! — 161 

Know'st thou this paper ? 

Edmund. Ask me not what I know. 

Albany. Go after her: she 's desperate; govern her. 

Edmund. What you have charg'd me with, that have 
I done ; 
And more, much more : the time will bring it out. 
'T is past, and so am I. — But what art thou 
That hast this fortune on me ? If thou 'rt noble, 
I do forgive thee. 

Edgar. Let 's exchange charity. 

I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund ; 
If more, the more thou hast wrong'd me. 170 

My name is Edgar, and thy father's son. 
The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices 
Make instruments to plague us. 
The dark and vicious place where thee he got 
Cost him his eyes. 



Scene in] King Lear 153 

Edmund. Thou hast spoken right, 't is true : 

The wheel is come full circle ; I am here. 

Albany. Methought thy very gait did prophesy 
A royal nobleness. I must embrace thee ; 
Let sorrow split my heart if ever I 
Did hate thee or thy father ! 

Edgar. Worthy prince, I know 't. 

Albany. Where have you hid yourself ? 181 

How have you known the miseries of your father ? 

Edgar. By nursing them, my lord. List a brief tale ; 
And when 't is told, O that my heart would burst ! 
The bloody proclamation to escape, 
That follow'd me so near, — O, our lives' sweetness ! 
That we the pain of death would hourly die 
Rather than die at once ! — taught me to shift 
Into a madman's rags, to assume a semblance 
That very dogs disdain'd ; and in this habit 190 

Met I my father with his bleeding rings, 
Their precious stones new lost, became his guide, 
Led him, begg'd for him, sav'd him from despair ; 
Never, — O fault ! — reveal 'd myself unto him, 
Until some half-hour past, when I was arm'd. 
Not sure, though hoping, of this good success, 
I ask'd his blessing, and from first to last 
Told him my pilgrimage ; but his flaw'd heart, — 
Alack, too weak the conflict to support ! — 
'Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief, 200 

Burst smilingly. 

Edmund. This speech of yours hath mov'd me, 



1 54 King Lear [Act v 

And shall perchance do good. But speak you on ; 
You look as you had something more to say. 

Albany. If there be more, more woful, hold it in ; 
For I am almost ready to dissolve, 
Hearing of this. 

Edgar. This would have seem'd a period 

To such as love not sorrow ; but another, 
To amplify too much, would make much more, 
And top extremity. 

Whilst I was big in clamour there came in a man 210 
Who, having seen me in my worst estate, 
Shunn'd my abhorr'd society ; but then, finding 
Who 't was that so endur'd, with his strong arms 
He fasten'd on my neck, and bellow'd out 
As he 'd burst heaven, threw him on my father, 
Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him 
That ever ear receiv'd ; which in recounting 
His grief grew puissant, and the strings of life 
Began to crack. Twice then the trumpets sounded, 
And there I left him tranc'd. 

Albany. But who was this ? 220 

Edgar. Kent, sir, the banish 'd Kent ; who in disguise 
Follow'd his enemy king, and did him service 
Improper for a slave. 

Enter a Gentleman with a bloody knife 

Gentleman. Help, help, O, help ! 

Edgar. What kind of help ? 

Albany. Speak, man. 



Scene in] King Lear 155 

Edgar. What means that bloody knife ? 

Gentleman. 'T is hot, it smokes ! 

It came even from the heart of — O, she's dead ! 

Albany. Who dead ? speak, man. 

Gentlema?i. Your lady, sir, your lady ! and her sister 
By her is poison'd ; she confesses it. 

Edmund. I was contracted to them both ; all three 
Now marry in an instant. 

Edgar. Here comes Kent. 231 

Albany. Produce the bodies, be they alive or dead. 
This judgment of the heavens, that makes us tremble, 
Touches us not with pity. — [Exit Ge?itleman. 

Enter Kent 

O, is this he ? 
The time will not allow the compliment 
Which very manners urges. 

Kent. I am come 

To bid my king and master aye good night. 
Is he not here ? 

Albany. Great thing of us forgot ! — 

Speak, Edmund, where 's the king ? and where 's Cor- 
delia ? — 
See'st thou this object, Kent ? 240 

[The bodies of Goneril and Regan are brought in. 

Kent. Alack, why thus ? 

Edmund. Yet Edmund was belov'd. 

The one the other poison'd for my sake, 
And after slew herself. 



156 King Lear [Act v 

Albany. Even so. — Cover their faces. 

Edmund. I pant for life ; some good I mean to do, 
Despite of mine own nature. — Quickly send, 
Be brief in it, to the castle ! for my writ 
Is on the life of Lear and on Cordelia. 
Nay, send in time ! 

Albany. Run, run, O, run ! 

Edgar. To who, my lord ? — Who has the office ? 
send 250 

Thy token of reprieve. 

Edmund. Well thought on ; take my sword, 
Give it the captain. 

Albany. Haste thee, for thy life ! 

[Exit Edgar. 

Edmund. He hath commission from thy wife and me 
To hang Cordelia in the prison, and 
To lay the blame upon her own despair, 
That she fordid herself. 

Albany. The gods defend her ! — Bear him hence 
awhile. [Edmund is borne off. 

Re-enter Lear, with Cordelia dead in his arms ; 
Edgar, Captain, and others following 

Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl ! O, you are men of 

stones ! 
Had I your tongues and eyes, I 'd use them so 260 

That heaven's vault should crack. She 's gone for 

ever ! 
I know when one is dead, and when one lives. 



Scene in] King Lear 157 

She 's dead as earth. Lend me a looking-glass ; 
If that her breath will mist or stain the stone, 
Why, then she lives. 

Kent. Is this the promis'd end ? 

Edgar. Or image of that horror ? 

Albany. Fall and cease ! 

Lear. This feather stirs ! she lives ! if it be so, 
It is a chance which does redeem all sorrows 
That ever I have felt. 

Kent. O my good master ! 

Lear. Prithee, away ! 

Edgar. 'T is noble Kent, your friend. 

Lear. A plague upon you, murtherers, traitors, all ! 271 
I might have sav'd her ! new she 's gone for ever ! — 
Cordelia, Cordelia ! stay a little. Ha ! 
What is 't thou say'st ? — \Her voice was ever soft, 
Gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman, j— 
I kill'd the slave that was a-hanging thee. 

Captain. 'T is true, my lords, he did. 

Lear. Did I not, fellows ? 

I have seen the day, with my good biting falchion 
I would have made them skip. I am old now, 
And these same crosses spoil me. — Who are you ? 280 
Mine eyes are not o' the best; I '11 tell you straight. 

Kent. If Fortune brag of two she lov'd and hated, 
One of them ye behold. 

Lear. This is a dull sight. — Are you not Kent ? 

Kent. The same, 

Your servant Kent. Where is your servant Caius ? 



158 King Lear [Act V 

Lear. He 's a good fellow, I can tell you that ; 
He '11 strike, and quickly too. He 's dead and rotten. 

Kent. No, my good lord ; I am the very man — 

Lear. I '11 see that straight. 

Kent. That from your first of difference and decay 
Have follow'd your sad steps — 

Lear. You are welcome hither. 

Kent. Nor no man else ; all 's cheerless, dark, and 
deadly. 292 

Your eldest daughters have fordone themselves, 
And desperately are dead. 

Lear. Ay, so I think. 

Albany. He knows not what he says, and vain it is 
That we present us to him. 

Edgar. Very bootless. 

Enter a Captain 

Captain. Edmund is dead, my lord. 

Albany. That 's but a trifle here. — 

You lords and noble friends, know our intent. 
What comfort to this great decay may come 
Shall be applied : for us, we will resign, 300 

During the life of this old majesty, 
To him our absolute power ; — [To Edgar and Kent] 

you, to your rights, 
With boot, and such addition as your honours 
Have more than merited. All friends shall taste 
The wages of their virtue, and all foes 
The cup of their deservings. — O, see, see ! 



Scene in] King Lear 159 

Lear. And my poor fool is hang'd ! No, no, no life ! 
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, 
And thou no breath at all ? Thou 'It come no more, 
Never, never, never, never, never ! — 310 

Pray you, undo this button ; thank you, sir. — 
Do you see this ? Look on her, — look, — her lips, — 
Look there, look there ! [Dies. 

Edgar. He faints ! — My lord, my lord ! 

Kent. Break, heart ; I prithee, break ! 

Edgar. Look up, my lord. 

Kent. Vex not his ghost. O, let him pass !'he hates 
him 
That would upon the rack of this tough world 
Stretch him out longer. I 

Edgar. He is gone, indeed. 

Kent. The wonder is he hath endur'd so long ; 
He but usurp 'd his life. 

\, Albany. Bear them from hence. — Our present busi- 
ness 320 
Is general woe. — [To Kent and Edgar] Friends of my 

soul, you twain 
Rule in this realm, and the gor'd state sustain. 

Kent. I have a journey, sir, shortly to go ; 
My master calls me, I must not say no. 

Albany. The weight of this sad time we must obey, 
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. 
The oldest hath borne most ; we that are young 
Shall never see so much, nor live so long. 

[Exeunt, with a dead march. 



NOTES 



KING LEAR — II l6l 




- 

Norman Gateway — Dover Castle 



NOTES 



Introduction 



The Metre of the Play. — It should be understood at the 
outset that metre, or the mechanism of verse, is something alto- 
gether distinct from the music of verse. The one is matter of rule, 
the other of taste and feeling. Music is not an absolute necessity 
of verse; the metrical form is a necessity, being that which consti- 
tutes the verse. 

The plays of Shakespeare (with the exception of rhymed pas- 
sages, and of occasional songs and interludes) are all in unrhymed 
or blank verse ; and the normal form of this blank verse is illus- 
trated by i. i. 54 of the present play: "As much as child e'er lov'd 
or father found." 

This line, it will be seen, consists of ten syllables, with the even 
syllables (2d, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th) accented, the odd syllables 
(1st, 3d, etc.) being unaccented. Theoretically, it is made up of 

163 



164 Notes 

five feet of two syllables each, with the accent on the second sylla- 
ble. Such a foot is called an iambus (plural, iambuses, or the Latin 
iambi), and the form of verse is called iambic. 

This fundamental law of Shakespeare's verse is subject to certain 
modifications, the most important of which are as follows : — 

1. After the tenth syllable an unaccented syllable (or even two 
such syllables) may be added, forming what is sometimes called a 
female line; as in i. 1. 55 : " A love that makes breath poor and 
speech unable." The rhythm is complete with the second syllable 
of unable, the third being an extra eleventh syllable. In i. I. 37 
("And you, our no less loving son of Albany") we have two extra 
syllables, the rhythm being complete with the first syllable of Albany. 

2. The accent in any part of the verse may be shifted from an 
even to an odd syllable ; as in i. 1. 46 : " Which of you shall we 
say doth love us most?" and 51: "Dearer than eyesight, space, 
and liberty." In both lines the accent is shifted from the second to 
the first syllable. This change occurs very rarely in the tenth syl- 
lable, and seldom in the fourth ; and it is not allowable in two suc- 
cessive accented syllables. 

3. An extra unaccented syllable may occur in any part of the 
line ; as in i. 1. 39, 59, and 60. In 39 the second syllable of several 
is superfluous; in 59 the second syllable of shadowy; and in 60 
that of plenteous. In line 64 (a female line) the word am is super- 
fluous. 

4. Any unaccented syllable, occurring in an even place immedi- 
ately before or after an even syllable which is properly accented, is 
reckoned as accented for the purposes of the verse ; as, for instance, 
in lines 51 and 70. In 51 the last syllable of liberty, and in 70 that 
of felicitate, are metrically equivalent to accented syllables ; and so 
with the fourth syllable of hereditary in 74 and of validity in 76 
(both being female lines), and the third of Burgundy in 79. 

5. In many instances in Shakespeare words must be lengthened 
in order to fill out the rhythm : — 

(a) In a large class of words in which e or i is followed by 



Notes 165 



another vowel, the e or i is made a separate syllable ; as ocean, 
opinion, soldier, patience, partial, marriage, etc. For instance, 
in this play, iv. 5. 3 ("Your sister is the better soldier") appears 
to have only nine syllables, but soldier is a trisyllable; and the 
same is true of gorgeous in ii. 4. 266 : " If only to go warm were 
gorgeous." This lengthening occurs most frequently at the end 
of the line, but there are few instances of it in Lear. 

(b) Many monosyllables ending in r, re, rs, res, preceded by a 
long vowel or diphthong, are often made dissyllables ; as fare, fear, 
dear, fire, hair, hour, more (see on i. 4. 347 and v. 3. 170), your, 
etc. In iii. 2. 15 ("Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daugh- 
ters ") fire is a dissyllable. If the word is repeated in a verse it is 
often both monosyllable and dissyllable; as in M. of V. iii. 2. 20: 
" And so, though yours, not yours. Prove it so," where either yours 
(preferably the first) is a dissyllable, the other being a monosylla- 
ble. In J. C. iii. 1. 172: "As fire drives out fire, so pity, pity," 
the first fire is a dissyllable. 

(c) Words containing / or r, preceded by another consonant, are 
often pronounced as if a vowel came between the consonants ; 
as in T. of S. ii. 1. 158: "While she did call me rascal fiddler" 
[fidd(e)ler] ; All 's Well, iii. 5. 43 : " If you will tarry, holy pil- 
grim" [pilg(e)rim]; C. of E.v. 1. 360: "These are the parents 
of these children " (childeren, the original form of the word) ; 
W. T. iv. 4. 76: "Grace and remembrance [rememb(e)rance] be 

to you both ! " etc. 

(d) Monosyllabic exclamations (ay, O, yea, nay, hail, etc.) and 
monosyllables otherwise emphasized are similarly lengthened ; also 
certain longer words ; as commandement in the present play (iv. I. 
442); safety (trisyllable) in Ham. i. 3. 21; business (trisyllable, as 
originally pronounced) in J. C. iv. 1. 22: "To groan and sweat 
under the business " (so in several other passages) ; and other 
words mentioned in the notes to the plays in which they occur. 

6. Words are also contracted for metrical reasons, like plurals 
and possessives ending in a sibilant, as balance, horse (for horses 



1 66 Notes 

and horse's), princess, sense, marriage (plural and possessive), image 
(see note on ii. 4. 87), etc. So with many adjectives in the super- 
lative (like coldest in i. I. 249, stern' 'st, kindest, secret' st, etc.), and 
certain other words. 

7. The accent of words is also varied in many instances for met- 
rical reasons. Thus we find both revenue and revenue in the first 
scene of the M. N. D. (lines 6 and 158), cdnfine (noun) and con- 
fine (see note on ii. 4. 145), mdture (see on iv. 6. 258) and ma- 
ture, pursue and pursue, distinct and distinct, etc. 

These instances of variable accent must not be confounded with 
those in which words were uniformly accented differently in the 
time of Shakespeare ; like aspect (see on ii. 2. 108), impdrtune, 
sepulchre (verb; see on ii. 4. 129), per sever (never persevere), 
'perseverance, rheumatic, etc. 

8. Alexandrines, or verses of twelve syllables, with six accents, 
occur here and there in the plays. They must not be confounded 
with female lines with two extra syllables (see on I above) or with 
other lines in which two extra unaccented syllables may occur. 

9. Incomplete verses, of one or more syllables, are scattered 
through the plays. See i. 1. 49, 99, 101, 102, etc. 

10. Doggerel measure is used in the very earliest comedies (Z. Z. 
Z. and C. of E. in particular) in the mouths of comic characters, 
but nowhere else in those plays, and never anywhere in plays written 
after 1598. 

11. Rhyme occurs frequently in the early plays, but diminishes 
with comparative regularity from that period until the latest. Thus, 
in Z. Z. Z. there are about 1100 rhyming verses (about one-third 
of the whole number), in the M. N. D. about 900, in Richard II. 
and R. and J. about 500 each, while in Cor. and A. and C. there are 
only about 40 each, in the Temp, only two, and in the W. T. none 
at all, except in the chorus introducing act iv. Songs, interludes, 
and other matter not in ten-syllable measure are not included in this 
enumeration. In the present play, out of some 2200 ten-syllable 
verses, only about seventy are in rhyme. 



Notes 1 67 



Alternate rhymes are found only in the plays written before 1599 
or 1600. In the M. of V. there are only four lines at the end of 
iii. 2. In Much Ado and A. Y. L., we also find a few lines, but 
none at all in this and subsequent plays. 

Rhymed couplets, or "rhyme-tags" are often found at the end of 
scenes ; as in 9 of the 26 scenes of the present play. In Ham., 
14 out of 20 scenes, and in Macb,, 21 out of 28, have such "tags;," 
but in the latest plays they are not so frequent. The Temp., for 
instance, has but one, and the W. T. none. 

12. In this edition of Shakespeare, the final -ed of past tenses 
and participles in verse is printed -d when the word is to be pro- 
nounced in the ordinary way; as in answered, line 43, and lov'd, 
line 54, of the first scene. But when the metre requires that the 
-ed be made a separate syllable, the e is retained ; as in not-to-be- 
endured, i. 4. 209, where endured is a trisyllable. The only varia- 
tion from this rule is in verbs like cry, die, sue, etc., the -ed of which 
is very rarely, if ever, made a separate syllable. 

Shakespeare's Use of Verse and Prose in the Plays. — 
This is a subject to which the critics have given very little atten- 
tion, but it is an interesting study. In Lear we find scenes 
entirely in verse or in prose, and others in which the two are mixed. 
In general, we may say that verse is used for what is distinctly 
poetical, and prose for what is not poetical. The distinction, how- 
ever, is not so clearly marked in the earlier as in the later plays. 
The second scene of the M. of V., for instance, is in prose, because 
Portia and Nerissa are talking about the suitors in a familiar and 
playful way; but in the T. G. of V., where Julia and Lucetta are 
discussing the suitors of the former in much the same fashion, the 
scene is in verse. Dowden, commenting on Rich. II, remarks: 
" Had Shakespeare written the play a few years later, we may be 
certain that the gardener and his servants (iii. 4) would not have 
uttered stately speeches in verse, but would have spoken homely 
prose, and that humour would have mingled with the pathos of the 
scene. The same remark may be made with reference to the sub- 



1 68 Notes 

sequent scene (v. 5) in which his groom visits the dethroned king 
in the Tower." Comic characters and those in low life generally 
speak in prose in the later plays, as Dowden intimates, but in the 
very earliest ones doggerel verse is much used instead. See on II 
above. 

The change from prose to verse is well illustrated in the third 
scene of the M. of V. It begins with plain prosaic talk about a 
business matter; but when Antonio enters, it rises at once to the 
higher level of poetry. The sight of Antonio reminds Shylock of 
his hatred of the Merchant, and the passion expresses itself in verse, 
the vernacular tongue of poetry. We have a similar change in 
the first scene of J. C, where, after the quibbling " chaff " of the 
mechanics about their trades, the mention of Pompey reminds the 
Tribune of their plebeian fickleness, and his scorn and indignation 
flame out in most eloquent verse. 

The reasons for the choice of prose or verse are not always so 
clear as in these instances. We are seldom puzzled to explain the 
prose, but not unfrequently we meet with verse where we might 
expect prose. As Professor Corson remarks {Introduction to Shake- 
speare, 1889), "Shakespeare adopted verse as the general tenor of 
his language, and therefore expressed much in verse that is within 
the capabilities of prose; in other words, his verse constantly en- 
croaches upon the domain of prose, but his prose can never be said 
to encroach upon the domain of verse." If in rare instances we 
think we find exceptions to this latter statement, and prose actually 
seems to usurp the place of verse, I believe that careful study of 
the passage will prove the supposed exception to be apparent rather 
than real. 

Some Books for Teachers and Students. — A few out of 
the many books that might be commended to the teacher and the 
critical student are the following : Halliwell-Phillipps's Outlines of 
the Life of Shakespeare (7th ed. 1 887) ; Sidney Lee's Life of Shake- 
speare (1898; for ordinary students the abridged ed. of 1899 is 
preferable) ; Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon (3d ed. 1902) ; Little- 



Notes 169 

dale's ed. of Dyce's Glossary (1902); Bartlett's Concordance to 
Shakespeare (1895); Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar (1873); 
Furness's "New Variorum" ed. of Lear (1880; encyclopaedic and 
exhaustive) ; Dowden's Shakspere : His Mind and Art (Ameri- 
can ed. 1881); Hudson's Life, Art, and Characters of Shakespeare 
(revised ed. 1882); Mrs. Jameson's Characteristics of Women 
(several eds.; some with the title, Shakespeare Heroines')', Ten 
Brink's Five Lectures on Shakespeare (1895); Boas's Shakespeare 
and His Predecessors (1895); Dyer's Folk-lore of Shakespeare 
(American ed. 1884); Gervinus's Shakespeare Commentaries (Bun- 
nett's translation, 1875); Wordsworth's Shakespeare's Knowledge 
of the Bible (3d ed. 1880); Elson's Shakespeare in Music (1901). 

Some of the above books will be useful to all readers who are 
interested in special subjects or in general criticism of Shakespeare. 
Among those which are better suited to the needs of ordinary 
readers and students, the following may be mentioned: Mabie's 
William Shakespeare : Poet, Dramatist, and Man (1900); Phin's 
Cyclopedia and Glossary of Shakespeare (1902; more compact and 
cheaper than Dyce); Dowden's Shakspere Primer (1877; small 
but invaluable); Rolfe's Shakespeare the Boy (1896 ; treating of 
the home and school life, the games and sports, the manners, 
customs, and folk-lore of the poet's time); Guerber's Myths of 
Greece and Rome (for young students who may need information 
on mythological allusions not explained in the notes). 

Black's Judith Shakespeare (1884; a novel, but a careful study 
of the scene and the time) is a book that I always commend to 
young people, and their elders will also enjoy it. The Lambs' 
Tales from Shakespeare is a classic for beginners in the study of 
the dramatist ; and in Rolfe's ed. the plan of the authors is carried 
out in the Notes by copious illustrative quotations from the plays. 
Mrs. Cowden-Clarke's Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines (several 
eds.) will particularly interest girls; and both girls and boys will find 
Bennett's Master Skylark (1897) an d Imogen Clark's Will Shake- 
speare's Little Lad (1897) equally entertaining and instructive. 



170 Notes 



H. Snowden Ward's Shakespeare's Town and Tunes (1896) and 
John Leyland's Shakespeare Country (1900) are copiously illus- 
trated books (yet inexpensive) which may be particularly com- 
mended for school libraries. 

Abbreviations in the Notes. — The abbreviations of the 
names of Shakespeare's plays will be readily understood ; as 
T. N. for Twelfth Night, Cor. for Coriolanus, 3 Hen. VI. for 
The Third Part of King Henry the Sixth, etc. P. P. refers to 
The Passionate Pilgrim; V. and A. to Venus and Adonis; L. C, 
to Lover's Co?nplaint ; and Sonn. to the Sonnets. 

Other abbreviations that hardly need explanation are Cf (confer, 
compare), Fol. (following), Id. {idem, the same), and Prol. (pro- 
logue). The numbers of the lines in the references (except for the 
present play) are those of the "Globe " edition (the cheapest and 
best edition of Shakespeare in one compact volume), which is now 
generally accepted as the standard for line-numbers in works of ref- 
erence (Schmidt's Lexicon, Abbott's Grammar, Dowden's Primer, 
the publications of the New Shakspere Society, etc.). 

The Stories of the Play as told by Holinshed and 
Sidney. — The story of Lear and his daughters as told by Holin- 
shed (ed. 1574) is as follows : x — 

" Leir the sonne of Baldud, was admitted ruler ouer the Britaines, 
in the yeere of the world 3105, at what time Ioas raigned as yet in 
Iuda. This Leir was a prince of right noble demeanor, gouerning 
his land and subiects in great wealth. He made the towne of 
Caerlier nowe called Leicester, which standeth vpon the riuer 
of Sore. It is written that he had by his wife three daughters 
without other issue, whose names were Gonorilla, Regan, and 
Cordeilla, which daughters he greatly loued, but specially Cordeilla 
the yoongest farre aboue the two elder. When this Leir therefore 
was come to great yeeres, & began to waxe vnweldie through age, 
he thought to vnderstand the affections of his daughters towards 

1 See Furness, p. 384 fol. 



Notes 171 

him, and preferre hir whome he best loued, to the succession ouer 
the kingdome. Whervpon he first asked Gonorilla the eldest, how 
well shee loued him : who calling hir gods to record, protested, 
that she loued him more than hir owne life, which by right and 
reason shoulde be most deere vnto hir. With which answer the 
father being well pleased, turned to the second, and demanded of 
hir how well she loued him : who answered (confirming hir saiengs 
with great othes) that she loued him more than toung could ex- 
presse, and farre aboue all other creatures of the world. 

"Then called he his yoongest daughter Cordeilla before him, and 
asked of hir what account she made of him: vnto whome she 
made this answer as followeth: Knowing the great loue and 
fatherlie zeale that you haue always borne towards me, (for the 
which I maie not answere you otherwise than I thinke, and as my 
conscience leadeth me) I protest vnto you, that I haue loued you 
euer, and will continuallie (while I Hue) loue you as my naturall 
father. And if you would more vnderstand of the loue that I 
beare you, assertaine your selfe, that so much as you haue, so much 
you are worth, and so much I loue you, and no more. The father 
being nothing content with this answer, married his two eldest 
daughters, the one vnto Henninus, the Duke of Cornewal, and the 
other vnto Maglanus, the Duke of Albania, betwixt whome he 
willed and ordeined that his land should be deuided after his death, 
and the one halfe thereof immediatelie should be assigned to 
them in hand : but for the third daughter Cordeilla he reserued 
nothing. 

" Neuertheless it fortuned that one of the princes of Gallia 
(which now is called France) whose name was Aganippus, hearing 
of the beautie, womanhood, and good conditions of the said Cor- 
deilla, desired to haue hir in mariage, and sent ouer to hir father, 
requiring that he mighte haue hir to wife : to whome answere was 
made, that he might haue his daughter, but as for anie dower he 
could haue none, for all was promised and assured to hir other sis- 
ters alreadie. Aganippus notwithstanding this answer of deniall to 



172 Notes 

receiue anie thing by way of dower with Cordeilla, tooke hir to 
wife, onlie moued thereto (I saie) for respect of hir person and 
amiable vertues. This Aganippus was one of the twelue kings 
that ruled Gallia in those daies, as in the Brittish historie it is 
recorded. But to proceed. 

" After that Leir was fallen into age, the two dukes that had 
married his two eldest daughters, thinking long yer the gouernment 
of the land did come to their hands, arose against him in armour, 
and reft from him the gouernance of the land, vpon conditions 
to be continued for terme of life : by the which he was put to his 
portion, that is, to Hue after a rate assigned to him for the mainte- 
nance of his estate, which in processe of time was diminished as 
well by Maglanus as by Henninus. But the greatest griefe that 
Leir tooke, was to see the vnkindnesse of his daughters, which 
seemed to thinke that all was too much which their father had, 
the same being neuer so little : in so much, that going from the 
one to the other, he was brought to that miserie, that scarslie 
they would allow him one seruaunt to waite vpon him. 

" In the end, such was the vnkindnesse, or (as I maie saie) the 
vnnaturalnesse which he found in his two daughters, notwithstand- 
ing their faire and pleasant words vttered in time past, that being 
constreined of necessitie, he fled the land, and sailed into Gallia, 
there to seeke some comfort of his youngest daughter Cordeilla 
whom before time he hated. The ladie Cordeilla hearing that he 
was arriued in poore estate, she first sent to him privilie a certeine 
summe of monie to apparell himselfe withall, and to reteine a cer- 
tein number of seruants that might attende vpon him in honorable 
wise, as apperteined to the estate which he had borne : and then so 
accompanied, she appointed him to come to the court, which he 
did, and was so ioifullie, honorablie, and louinglie receiued, both 
by his sonne in law Aganippus, and also by his daughter Cordeilla, 
that his hart was greatlie comforted; for he was no lesse honored, 
than if he had beene king of the whole countrie himselfe. 

"Now when he had informed his son in law and his daughter in 



Notes 173 



what sort he had beene vsed by his other daughters, Aganippus 
caused a mightie armie to be put in readinesse, and likewise a 
greate nauie of ships to be rigged, to passe ouer into Britaine with 
Leir his father in law, to see him againe restored to his kingdome. 
It was accorded, that Cordeilla should also go with him to take 
possession of the land, the which he promised to leaue vnto hir, 
as the rightfull inheritour after his decesse, notwithstanding any 
former grant made to hir sisters or to their husbands in anie manet 
of wise. , 

" Herevpon, when this armie and nauie of ships were readie, 
Leir and his daughter Cordeilla with hir husband tooke the sea, 
and arriuing in Britaine, fought with their enimies, and discomfited 
them in battell, in which Maglanus and Henninus were slaine : and 
then was Leir restored to his kingdome, which he ruled after this 
by the space of two yeeres, and then died, fortie yeeres after he 
first began to reigne. His bodie was buried at Leicester in a vaut 
vnder the chanell of the riuer of Sore beneath the towne. 

" Cordeilla the yoongest daughter of Leir was admitted Q. and 
supreme gouernesse of Britaine, in the yeere of the world 3155, 
before the bylding of Rome 54, Uzia was then reigning in Juda, 
and Jeroboam ouer Israeli. This Cordeilla after hir father's de- 
ceasse ruled the land of Britaine right worthilie during the space 
of fiue yeeres, in which meane time her husband died, and then 
about the end of those fiue yeeres, hir two nephewes Margan and 
Cunedag, sonnes to hir aforesaid sisters, disdaining to be vnder the 
gouernment of a woman, leuied warre against hir, and destroied a 
great part of the land, and finallie tooke hir prisoner, and laid hir 
fast in ward, wherewith she tooke suche griefe, being a woman of 
a manlie courage, and despairing to recouer libertie, there she slue 
hirselfe." 

The following extract from Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia (lib. ii. 
pp. 133-138, ed. 1598) contains the story, referred to on page 11 
above, from which Shakespeare derived the incidents of his plot in 
which Gloster figures. It is entitled, in the ed. of 1590, "The piti- 



174 Notes 

full state, and story of the Paphlagonian vnkinde king, and his 
kind sonne, first related by the son, then by the blind father : " — 

" It was in the kingdome of Galacia, the season being (as in the 
depth of winter) verie cold, and as then sodainlie growne to so ex- 
treame and foule a storme, that neuer any winter (I thinke) brought 
forth a fowler child : so that the Princes were euen c5pelled by the 
haile, that the pride of the winde blew into their faces, to seeke 
some shrowding place which a certain hollow rocke offering vnto 
them, they made it their shield against the tempests furie. And so 
staying there, till the violence there of was passed, they heard the 
speach of a couple, who not perceiuing them, being hid within 
that rude canapie, held a straunge and pitifull disputation, which 
made them step out, yet in such sort, as they might see vnseene. 
There they perceiued an aged man, and a young, scarcelie come to 
the age of a man, both poorely arrayed, extreamely weather-beaten; 
the olde man blind, the young man leading him : and yet through 
all those miseries, in both there seemed to appeare a kind of noble- 
nesse, not sutable to that affliction. But the first words they heard, 
were these of the old man. Well Leonatus (said he) since I can- 
not perswade thee to leade me to that which should end my griefe, 
and thy trouble, let me now intreat thee to leaue me : feare not, 
my miserie cannot be greater then it is, and nothing doth become 
me but miserie : feare not the daunger of my blind steps, I cannot 
fall worse then I am : and do not I pray thee, do not obstinately 
continue to infect thee with my wretchednesse : but flie, flie from 
this region only worthie of me. Deare father (answered he) do 
not take away from me the only remnant of my happinesse : while 
I haue power to do you seruice, I am not whollie miserable. Ah 
my sonne (said he, and with that he groned, as if sorrow straue to 
breake his heart) how euill fits it me to haue such a sonne, and how 
much doth thy kindnesse vpbraid my wickednesse ? These dole- 
full speeches, and some others to like purpose (well shewing they 
had not bene borne to the fortune they were in,) moued the 
Princes to go out vnto them, and aske the younger what they were ? 



Notes 175 



Sirs (answered he with a good grace, and made the more agreeable 
by a certaine noble kind of piteousnesse) I see well you are 
straungers, that know not our miserie, so well here knowne, that 
no man dare know, but that we must be miserable. Indeed our 
state is such, as though nothing is so needfull vnto vs as pitie, yet 
nothing is more dangerous vnto vs, then to make our selues so 
knowne as may stirre pitie; but your presence promiseth that 
crueltie shall not ouer-runne hate : and if it did, in truth our state 
is sunke below the degree of feare. 

" This old man (whom I leade) was lately rightfull Prince of this 
countrie of Paphlagonia, by the hard-hearted vngratefulnesse of a 
sonne of his, depriued, not onely of his kingdome (whereof no 
forraine forces were euer able to spoyle him) but of his sight, the 
riches which Nature graunts to the poorest creatures. Whereby, 
and by other his vnnaturall dealings, he hath bene driuen to such 
griefe, as euen now he would haue had me to haue led him to the 
. top of this rocke, thence to cast himselfe headlong to death : and 
so would haue made me, who receiued my life of him, to be the 
worker of his destruction. But noble Gentlemen, said he, if either 
of you haue a father, and feele what dutifull affection is engrafted 
in a sonnes heart, let me intreat you to conueigh this afflicted 
Prince to some place of rest and securitie : amongst your worthie 
acts it shall be none of the least, that a king of such might and 
fame, & so vniustlie oppressed, is in any sort by you relieued. 

" But before they could make him answere, his father beganne to 
speake. Ah my sonne, said he, how euill an Historian are you, 
that leaue out the chiefe knot of all the discourse ? my wickednesse, 
my wickednesse : and if thou doest it to spare my eares, (the only 
sense now left me proper for knowledge) assure thy selfe thou doest 
mistake me : and I take witnesse of that Sunne which you see (with 
that he cast vp his blind eyes, as if he would hunt for light) and 
wish my selfe in worse case then I do wish my selfe, which is as 
euill as may be, if I speake vntrulie, that nothing is so welcome to 
my thoughts, as the publishing of my shame. Therefore know you 



176 



Notes 



Gentlemen (to whom from my heart I wish that it may not proue 
some ominous foretoken of misfortune to haue met with such a 
miser as I am) that whatsoeuer my son (6 God, that truth binds me 
to reproch him with the name of my son) hath said is true. But 
besides those truthes, this also is true, that hauing had in lawfull 
manage, of a mother fit to beare royall children, this sonne (such a 
one as partly you see, and better shall know by my short declara- 
tion) and so enioyed the expectations in the world of him, till he 
was growne to iustifie their expectations (so as I needed enuie no 
father for the chiefe comfort of mortalitie, to leaue another ones- 
selfe after me) I was caried by a bastard sonne of mine (if at least 
I be bound to beleeue the words of that base woman my concubine, 
his mother) first to mislike, then to hate, lastlie to destroy, or to do 
my best to destroy this sonne (I thinke you thinke) vndeseruing 
destruction. What wayes he vsed to bring me to it, if I should tell 
you, I should tediouslie trouble you with as much poisonous hypoc- 
risie, desperate fraud, smooth malice, hidden ambition, and smiling 
enuie, as in anie liuing person could be harboured : but I list it not; 
no remembrance of naughtinesse delights me but mine owne ; and 
me thinks, the accusing his traps might in some maner excuse my 
fault, which certainlie I lothe to do. But the conclusion is, that I 
gaue orders to some seruants of mine, whom I thought as apt for 
such charities as my selfe, to leade him out into a forrest, and there 
to kill him. 

"But those theeues (better natured to my sonne then myselfe) 
spared his life, letting him go to learne to Hue poorely : which he 
did, giuing himselfe to be a priuate souldier in a countrey here by : 
but as he was ready to be greatly aduanced for some noble peeces 
of seruice which he did, he heard newes of me : who (drunke in 
my affection to that vnlawfull and vnnaturall sonne of mine) suf- 
fered my selfe so to be gouerned by him, that all fauours and 
punishments passed by him, all offices, and places of importance 
distributed to his fauorites ; so that ere I was aware, I had left my 
selfe nothing but the name of a King : which he shortly wearie of 



Notes 177 

too, with many indignities (if any thing may be called an indignitie, 
which was laid vpon me) threw me out of my seat, and put out my 
eyes; and then (proud in his tyrannie) let me go, neither imprison- 
ing, nor killing me ; but rather delighting to make me feele my 
miserie ; miserie indeed, if euer there were anie ; full of wretched- 
ness, fuller of disgrace, and fullest of guiltinesse. And as he 
came to the crowne by so vniust means, as vniustlie he kept it, by 
force of straunger souldiers in Cittadels, the neasts of tyrannie, and 
murderers of libertie ; disarming all his owne countrimen, that no 
man durst shew himself a wel-willer of mine : to say the truth (I 
thinke) few of them being so (considering my cruell follie to my 
good sonne, and foolish kindnesse to my vnkind bastard : ) but if 
there were any who felt a pitie of so great a fall, and had yet any 
sparkes of vnslaine dutie left in them towards me ; yet durst they 
not shew it, scarcelie with giuing me almes at their doores ; which 
yet was the onlie sustenance of my distressed life, no bodie daring 
to shew so much charitie, as to lend me a hand to guide my darke 
steps : till this sonne of mine (God knowes, worthy of a more vertu- 
ous, and more fortunate father) forgetting my abhominable wrongs, 
not recking daunger, and neglecting the present good way hee was 
in of doing himselfe good, came hither to do this kind office you 
see him performe towards me, to my vnspeakeable griefe ; not onlie 
because his kindnesse is a glasse euen to my blind eyes of my 
naughtiness, but that aboue all griefes, it grieues me he should des- 
peratelie aduenture the losse of his well-deseruing life for mine, that 
yet owe more to Fortune for my deserts, as if he would carie mudde 
in a chest of Chrystall : for well I know, he that now raigneth, how 
much so euer (and with good reason) he despiseth me, of all men 
despised ; yet he will not let slip any aduantage to make away 
him, whose iust title (ennobled by courage & goodnesse) may one 
day shake the seat of a neuer secure tyrannie. And for this cause 
I craued of him to leade me to the top of this rocke, indeed I must 
confesse, with meaning to free him from so serpentine a companion 
as I am. But he finding what I purposed, onely therein since he 

KING LEAR — 12 



178 Notes [Act 1 

was borne, shewed himselfe disobedient vnto me. And now Gen- 
tlemen, you haue the true storie, which I pray you publish to the 
world, that my mischieuous proceedings may be the glorie of his 
filial pietie, the onlie reward now left for so great a merite. And if 
it may be, let me obtaine that of you, which my sonne denies me : 
for neuer was there more pity in sauing any, then in ending me, 
both because therin my agonie shall end, & so you shal preserue 
this excellent young man, who else wilfully followes his owne ruine." 



ACT I 

Scene I. — Enter . . . Gloster. In the 1st folio the name is 
here spelt " Gloucester" but in many places in the play (as in 
Rich. III.) it is " Gloster" or " Glouster" and the abbreviations 
used* are " Glo.," " Glou.," " Glost.," etc. The 1st quarto has 
" Gloster," as have the majority of the modern eds. 

1. Had more affected. Had been more partial to. The verb is 
intransitive in A. and C. i. 3. 71: "As thou affect'st" (=likest, 
pleasest) . 

2. Albany. Holinshed derives the name from Albanacte, or 
Albanactus, the youngest son of Brute. He gave the name Albania 
to that portion of Britain left him by his father, including all the 
territory north of the Humber. 

5. Qualities. The folio reading; the quartos have " equalities," 
which some editors prefer. Curiosity '— careful scrutiny. Cf. i. 2. 
4 and i. 4. 71. S. uses the word nowhere else except in T. of A. 
iv. 3. 303, where it has a similar sense ( = nicety) . 

7. Moiety. Often used for a fraction other than a half. Cf. 
1 Hen. IV. iii. 1. 96, etc. The meaning of the passage is: the 
qualities or values are so balanced that the nicest discrimination 
cannot make choice among them. 



Scene I] Notes 179 

11. Brazed, Cf. Ham. iii. 4. 37: "If damned custom have not 
braz'd it so," etc. 

13. Proper. Comely; as often. Cf. Oth. iv. 3. 35: "a proper 
man," etc. 

16. Something. The adverbial use is very common in S. 

27. Out. Seeking his fortune abroad. Cf. T. G. ofV. i. 3. 7 : — 

" He wonder'd that your lordship 
Would suffer him to spend his youth at home, 
While other men, of slender reputation, 
Put forth their sons to seek preferment out ; " 

that is, in foreign countries. 

28. Sennet. A succession of notes on the trumpet or cornet. 
31. Darker. More secret; or " what has not been told before " 

(Johnson). 

33. In three. We still say " cut in two," " break in two," etc. 
Fast = fixed, settled; like constant in 38 below. 

40. France and Burgundy. King Lear lived, as the chronicle 
says, "in the times of Joash, King of Judah." S. appears to 
imagine Lear as king in the rough times following Charlemagne, 
when France and Burgundy had become separate nations (Mo- 
berly). 

44, 45. For both with more than two nouns, cf. V. and A. 747: 
"Both favour, savour, hue, and qualities; " W. T. iv. 4. 56: " She 
was both pantler, butler, cook; " 1 Hen. IV. v. 1. 107: "Both he 
and they and you," etc. 

48. Where nature, etc. Where your natural affection deservedly 
claims it as due. For challenge, cf. Oth. i. 3. 188, ii. I. 213, Rich II. 
ii. 3. 134, etc. See also iv. 7. 31 below. 

50. Word. The folio reading. The quartos have "words," 
which some prefer. Wield = manage, express. 

51. Space. Space in general, the world; as liberty is the freedom 
to enjoy it (Schmidt). 

56. Beyond all manner, etc. " Beyond all assignable quantity : 



180 Notes [Act i 

I love you beyond limits, and cannot say it is so much, for how 
much soever I should name, it would yet be more" (Johnson). 
But so much may refer to the comparisons just made. 

57. What shall Cordelia speak ? The folio reading, retained by 
Furness and others; the quarto, which is generally followed, has 
" do " for speak. As Furness remarks, the choice of readings, apart 
from authority, depends on whether we take Love and be silent as 
imperative or not. 

59. Shadowy. "Shady" (the quarto reading). Cf. T. G.of V. 
v. 4. 2 : " This shadowy desert, unfrequented woods." For cham- 
paigns = plains, cf. T. JV. ii. 5. 174: "Daylight and champaign 
discovers not more." Ricfr'd ( = enriched) is used by S. nowhere 
else. 

63. Cornwall. The quartos add " speake," which most editors 
adopt. 

64. Self. Cf. iv. 3. 36 below : " one self mate." See also 
C. of E. v. 1. 10: "that self chain," etc. 

65. And prize me, etc. And I reckon myself equal to her in 
affection. 

66. Names my very deed of love. Describes my love in very 
deed, or just as it is. 

67. That. In that, because. 

69. Which the most precious square of sense professes. The folio 
reading; the quartos have "possesses." The choice between the 
two depends on the meaning of square of sense, which it is not easy 
to make out. Johnson says : " Perhaps square means only compass, 
comprehension" Edwards makes it "the full complement of all 
the senses;" Moberly, "the choicest estimate of sense;" Wright, 
" the most delicately sensitive part of my nature." If S. wrote the 
word, it must have one of these meanings — rule, estimate, com- 
pass, or range; but there may be some corruption. For a fuller 
discussion of the enigma the reader may consult Fnrness, who has 
a full page of fine print upon it. He reads professes, and remarks : 
" Whatever meaning or no-meaning we may attach to square of 



Scene I] Notes 1 8 1 

sense, it seems clear to me that Regan refers to the joys which that 
square professes to bestow." 

70. Felicitate. Made happy; the only instance of the word in 
S. For the form, cf. degenerate, coitsecrate, suffocate, and the like, 
used as participles or adjectives. 

73. More ponderous. The quartos have " more richer," which 
some editors adopt. Schmidt remarks : " Light was the usual term 
applied to a wanton, frivolous, and fickle love; ' light o' love ' was a 
proverbial expression. But the opposite of this, heavy, could not 
be here employed, because that means uniformly, in a moral sense, 
melancholy, sad; nor is weighty any better; therefore S. chose 
ponderous." 

76. Validity. Value. In A. W. v. 3. 192, the word is used 
with reference to a ring. 

78. Our last and least. The folio reading, adopted by Furness 
and other editors; but many follow the quartos, which have " the 
last, not least in our deere love." Cf. J. C. iii. 1. 189: "Though 
last, not least in love." Malone quotes The Spanish Tragedy, 
written before 1593 : "The third and last, not least, in our account." 
The expression also occurs in Peele, Middleton, Beaumont and 
Fletcher, etc. White says : " Plainly this passage was rewritten 
before the folio was printed. The last part of 82, as it appears in 
the quartos, shows that the figurative allusion to the King of France 
and the Duke of Burgundy could have formed no part of the pas- 
sage when that text was printed. And in the rewriting there was 
a happy change made from the commonplace of ' last not least ' to 
an allusion to the personal traits and family position of Cordelia. 
The impression produced by all the passages in which she appears 
or is referred to is, that she was her father's little pet, while her 
sisters were big, bold, brazen beauties. Afterward, in this very 
scene, Lear says of her to Burgundy : ' If aught within that little 
seeming substance, or all of it, with our' displeasure pieced? etc. 
When she is dead, too, her father, although an infirm old man, 
' fourscore and upward,' carries her body in his arms. Cordelia 



1 82 Notes [Act I 

was evidently the least, as well as the youngest and best beloved, 
of the old king's daughters; and therefore he says to her, 'Now 
our joy, what can you say to justify my intention of giving you the 
richest third of the kingdom, although you are the youngest born 
and the least royal in your presence ?' The poet's every touch 
upon the figure of Cordelia paints her as, with all her firmness of 
character, a creature to nestle in a man's bosom, — her father's 
or her husband's, — and to be cherished almost like a little child; 
and this happy after-thought brings the picture into perfect keep- 
ing, and at the very commencement of the drama impresses upon 
the mind a characteristic trait of a personage who plays an impor- 
tant part in it, although she is little seen." As Furness says, " If 
last, not least was a hackneyed phrase in Shakespeare's time, it is 
all the more reason why it should not be used here." 

79. Milk. A metonymy for pastures. Moberly remarks : " In 
ascribing vines to France, and not to Burgundy, S. may have 
thought of the pastoral countries of Southern Belgium as forming 
part of Burgundy, as they did till the death of Charles the Bold, 
1477." 

80. Interess'd. Theobald's reading, adopted by the editors 
generally. The folio has " interest," which Schmidt retains, con- 
sidering it a contracted form of interested. Steevens quotes Dray- 
ton's Polyolbion, preface : " he is someway or other by his blood 
interessed therein; " and Ben Jonson, Sejanus, iii. 1 : — 

"but that the dear republic, 
Our sacred laws, and just authority 
Are interess'd therein, I should be silent." 

Wright adds examples of interessed from Massinger, Florio, and 
Minsheu. 

82. Nothing, my lord. Coleridge remarks : " There is some- 
thing of disgust at the ruthless hypocrisy of her sisters, and 
some little faulty admixture of pride and sullenness in Cordelia's 
'Nothing; ' and her tone is well contrived, indeed, to lessen the 



Scene I] Notes 1 83 

glaring absurdity of Lear's conduct, but answers the yet more im- 
portant purpose of forcing away the attention from the nursery-tale 
the moment it has served its end, that of supplying the canvas for 
the picture. This is also materially furthered by Kent's opposi- 
tion, which displays Lear's moral incapability of resigning the 
sovereign power in the very act of disposing of it. Kent is, per- 
haps, the nearest to perfect goodness in all Shakespeare's charac- 
ters, and yet the most individualized. There is an extraordinary 
charm in his bluntness, which is that only of a nobleman, arising 
from a contempt of overstrained courtesy, and combined with easy 
placability where goodness of heart is apparent. His passionate 
affection for, and fidelity to, Lear act on our feelings in Lear's own 
favour; virtue seems to be in company with him." 

85. Nothing will come of nothing. An allusion to the old 
maxim, Ex nihilo nihil fit. Cf. i. 4. 124 below. 

88. According to my bond. According to my duty, as I am 
bound by filial obligation. Cf. A. W. i. 3. 194: — 

" Countess. Love you my son? 

Helena. Do not you love him, madam? 

Countess. Go not about ; my love hath in 't a bond 
Whereof the world takes note." 

89. Mend. For the antithesis of mend and mar, cf. V. and A. 
478, R. of L. 578, and Sonn. 103. 10. For make and mar, cf. R. 
and J. i. 2. 13, A. Y. L. i. I. 34, etc. 

92. As are right fit. Some make this = " as (they) are right fit 
(to be returned) ; " but, as Furness suggests, it may be an instance 
of the relative use of as. Cf. i. 4. 60 below. 

95. Love you all. Give you all their love. For the adverbial 
use of all ( = altogether), cf. T. of A. i. 1. 139 : "I will dispossess 
her all," etc. See also iv. 7. 42 below. 

96. Plight. Pledge, troth; the only instance of the noun in 
this sense in S., though the verb (see iii. 4. 123 below) occurs 
several times. 



184 Notes [Act 1 

105. Hecate. A dissyllable; as regularly in S. except in 1 Hen. 
VI. iii. 2. 64. Wright remarks that this is " a significant fact as 
regards Shakespeare's share in that play." It would not of itself, 
however, settle the question; for Milton uses Hecate both as a dis- 
syllable (Comus, 135) and as a trisyllable (Id. 535). 

106. Operation of the orbs. An astrological allusion. 

107. Whom. For which; as often. 

in. The barbarous Scythian. Wright cites Purchas, Pilgrim- 
age, ed. 1614, p. 396: "These customes were generall to the 
Scythians in Europe and Asia ( for which cause Scytharum faci- 
nora patrare, grew into a prouerbe of immane crueltie, and their 
Land was iustly called Barbarous) : others were more speciall and 
peculiar to particular Nations Scythian." Cf. T. A. i. 1. 131 : 
" Was ever Scythia half so barbarous? " 

112. Makes his generation messes. Devours his children. For 
generation = progeny, cf. W. T. ii. 1. 148, Rich. II. v. 5. 8, T. and 
C. iii. 1. 146 (cf. Matthew iii. 7), etc. As Herodotus tells us that 
the Scythians ate their aged relatives, Craig suggests that genera- 
tion may mean parents, but that is improbable. 

115. Sometime. For the adjective use ( = former, whilom), cf. 
Rich. II. v. 1. 37, Ham. i. 2. 8, etc. Sometimes was similarly used; 
as in Rich. II. i. 2. 54, v. 5. 75, etc. 

117. Dragon. Moberly remarks : " A natural trope for Lear 
to use, as, like Arthur, he would wear a helmet, — 

" ' On which for crest the golden dragon clung 
For Britain.' " 

Wrath is put by metonymy for the object of the wrath. 

118. To set -my rest. The expression is evidently suggested by 
the card-playing phrase set up my rest, though with a reference also 
to the sense of rest = repose. For a similar instance, see R. and J. 

v. 3. 1 10 : — 

" O, here 
Will I set up my everlasting rest." 



Scene i] Notes 185 

Set up my rest was the usual phrase in the game of primero, 
and, as Furness notes, the one elsewhere used by S.; but we find 
set my rest in Minsheu's Dialogues, 1599. The following extract 
from a dialogue illustrating the game shows that some of its tech- 
nicalities were much like those of certain games still in vogue : 
" O. Let the cardes come to me, for I deale them; one, two, three, 
fower, one, two, three, fower. M. Passe. R. Passe. Z. Passe. O. I 
set so much. M. I will none. R. He none. Z. I must of force see 
it; deale the cards. M. Giue me fower cards; He see as much as 
he sets. R. See heere my rest ; let euery one be in. M. I am come 
to passe againe. R. And I too. Z. I do the selfe same. O. I set 
my rest. M. He see it. R. I also. Z. I cannot giue it ouer. M. I 
was a small prime. Z. I am flush." 

119. Hence, and avoid my sight ! It has been disputed whether 
this is addressed to Cordelia or Kent. The only reason given for 
the former view is that Cordelia does not go out, as, it is said, she 
would be likely to do upon such a command; but neither does 
Kent obey the order, and Cordelia would perhaps be no more likely 
to leave at the first impatient word of her father. Before she has 
fairly time to go, the order is given to call in France to take her if 
he will. 

121. Who stirs? Delius takes this to be a threat, to frighten 
the by-standers from any chance opposition. Moberly says : " The 
courtiers seem unwilling to obey a command so reckless." Furness, 
with a finer insight, asks : " May it not be that the circle of cour- 
tiers are so horror-struck at Lear's outburst of fury, and at Cor- 
delia's sudden and impending doom, that they stand motionless and 
forget to move ? " 

123. Digest. Metaphorically = amalgamate, combine. 

124. Marry her. Get her a husband. 
126. Effects. Attributes, accompaniments. 

130. Only. For the transposition, cf. Much Ado, iii. 1. 23, iv. I. 
323, A. Y. L. i. 2. 204, etc. 

131. Addition. Titular honour. Many editors adopt the " addi- 



1 86 Notes [Act i 

tions " of the quartos, but cf. ii. 2. 25 below, where the singular, as 
the context shows, refers to a multiplicity of titles. See also v. 3. 69. 
132. Revenue. Accented by S. on the first or second syllable, 
as suits the measure. Of the rest is antithetical to The name, etc., 
and includes all powers and attributes not thus reserved. 

138. Make from. Go from, get away from. Cf. make to (V. 
and A. 5, C. of E. i. 1. 93), make for (W. T. iv. 4. 554), etc, 

139. The fork. That is, the barbed arrowhead. Cf. A. Y. L. 
ii. 1. 24: "forked heads" (of arrows). For invade, cf. iii. 4. 7 
below. The only other instances of the word in S. are v. I. 25 
below and Hen. V. i. 2. 136. 

141. What wouldst thou do ? " This is spoke on seeing his mas- 
ter put his hand to his sword " (Capell). 

144. Reserve thy state. The quartos have " Reuerse thy doome," 
which most of the editors follow; but Furness ably defends the folio 
reading: "Kent is such a noble fellow that we who know Cordelia's 
truthfulness and honesty, and have heard her words spoken aside, 
cannot but think that he is here pleading her cause. But I am afraid 
we are too hasty. Kent is pleading, not for Cordelia, but for Lear 
himself; he has not as yet made the slightest allusion to Cordelia. 
When Lear denounces her, Kent, who sees that Lear is crushing 
the only chance of future happiness, starts forward with ' Good my 
liege; ' but before he can utter another word Lear interrupts him, 
and interprets his exclamation as an intercession for Cordelia; and 
we fall into the same error, so that when Kent speaks again we 
keep up the same illusion, whereas all that he now says breathes 
devotion to the king, and to no one else. The folly to which maj- 
esty falls is not the casting off of a daughter, — that is no more 
foolish in a king than in a subject, — but it is the surrendering of 
revenue, of sway, and of the crown itself, — this is hideous rashness, 
this is power bowing to flattery. Hence, Kent entreats Lear 'to 
reserve his state.' And to show still more conclusively that Lear, 
and not Cordelia, is chiefly in his thoughts, in his very next speech 
he says that the motive for which he now risks his life is the safety 



Scene I] Notes 1 87 

of the king. Furthermore, when Lear has been turned out of doors 
and his daughters have usurped all his powers, Gloucester (iii, 4. 
163) says, ' Ah, that good Kent ! He said it would be thus,' which 
cannot well refer to any other passage than the present. Moreover, 
had Kent been so devoted to Cordelia as to suffer banishment for 
her sake, would he not have followed her to France rather than fol- 
lowed as a servant his great patron whom he had thought on in his 
prayers? It need scarcely be added that ' reserve thy state ' means 
' retain thy royal dignity and power.' " 

146. Answer my life, etc. That is, let my life be answerable for 
my judgment. 

149. Reverbs. Probably the poet's own contraction of reverber- 
ates, as no other instance of the word has been found. 

151. Wage. Stake, set as a wager. Cf. Cymb. i. 4. 144: "I will 
wage against your gold, gold to it." 

154. Blank. The white or centre of a target. " See better," 
says Kent, " and keep me always in your view " (Johnson). 

156. Swear'' st. Elsewhere S. has swear by in this sense; but such 
omission of prepositions after other verbs is common enough. 

159. Revoke thy gift. Here the quartos and some editors read 
" doom " for gift. 

164. Strained. Exaggerated, excessive; as in 2 Hen. IV, i. I. 
161 : "This strained passion doth you wrong, my lord." 

166. Nor . . . nor. Often used by S. for neither . . . nor. 
We sometimes find three or more parts thus joined; as in R. and 
/. ii. 2. 40, Oth. iii. 4. 116, etc. 

167. Our potency made good, etc. "As a proof that I am not a 
mere threatener, that I have power as well as will to punish, take the 
due reward of thy demerits; hear thy sentence" (Malone). 

169. Diseases. Dis-eases, discomforts. Cf. I Hen. VI. ii. 5. 44: 
"And in that ease I'll tell thee my disease; " T. of A. iii. 1. 56: 
"Thou disease of a friend, and not himself! " Cf. also the verb 
(= make uneasy, disturb) in Cor. i. 3. 117: "she will but disease 
our better mirth." 



1 88 Notes [Act I 

173. Away! etc. Dr. Bucknill says : " Lear's treatment of Kent; 
his ready threat in reply to Kent's deferential address; his passion- 
ate interruptions and reproaches; his attempted violence, checked 
by Albany and Cornwall; and, finally, the cruel sentence of banish- 
ment, cruelly expressed, — all these are the acts of a man in whom 
passion has become disease." 

175. Sith. Since; as in ii. 4. 237 below. 

179. And your large speeches, etc. "And may your acts sub- 
stantiate your ample protestations " (Clarke). 

183. Here's. The singular verb is often thus used before a plural 
subject. 

185. Address toward. Address ourselves to. We find toward 
with address = direct, in L. L. L. v. 2. 92 : — 

" Toward that shade I might behold address'd 
The king and his companions." 

186. Hath rivalVd. Hath been a rival or competitor; the only 
instance of the verb in S. In the least = at the least. In ii. 4. 138 
below it is used as now = in the smallest degree. 

191. So. That is, worthy of such a dowry. There is a kind of 
play on dear, as the next line shows : when she was dear in love 
we held her dear in price. 

193. Little-seeming. Little in appearance. See on 78 above. 

194. Piedd. That is, pieced out. Cf. iii. 6. 2 below. 

195. Like. Please. Cf. ii. 2. 92 below : " His countenance likes 
me not." 

197. Owes. Owns, possesses; as often. Cf. i. 4. 126 below. 

199. Stranger' 'd. Estranged, alienated; the only instance of the 
verb in S. 

201. Makes not up. Comes to no decision. 

204. Make such a stray. Go so far astray. For the ellipsis of 
as, cf. 212 just below. 

206. Avert. Turn; the only instance of the verb in S. Aver- 
sion he does not use at all. The double comparative, as in more 



Scene I] Notes 189 

worthier, is common in S. We have at least six examples in this 
play; and the double superlative in "most poorest" (ii. 3. 7). 

210. Argument. Theme, subject; as in ii. I. 9 below. 

211. In this trice of time. We still use the expression "in a 
trice" (T. N. iv. 2. 123, etc.). "On a trice" occurs in Temp. v. 
I. 238. 

212. Dismantle. Elsewhere in S. the object of the verb is that 
from which anything is stripped, as in modern usage. Cf. W. T. 
iv. 4. 66 and Ham. iii. 2. 293. 

214. Such . . . that. Cf. ii. 2. 122 below: "such a deal of man 
that worthied him." 

215. Monsters. Makes monstrous; as in Cor. ii. 2. 81 : "To 
hear my nothings monster 'd." 

216. Fallen. Must be is understood. Fallen into taint = become 
tainted. Malone paraphrases the passage thus : " Either her offence 
must be monstrous, or, if she has not committed any such offence, 
the affection which you always professed to have for her must be 
tainted and decayed." Craig suggests that or — ere, as not unfre- 
quently. The latter clause would then mean " ere the warm affec- 
tion you always professed for her should thus suddenly have changed 
to hate." 

219. For. Because ; as in i. 2. 5 below. Cf. M. of V. i. 3. 43, 
M. for M. ii. I. 27, etc. 

222. Nor other foulness. The quartos have " murder or " or 
" murder, or," and the folios " murther, or." Collier suggested the 
emendation. Moberly remarks: "The gradation, 'vicious blot, 
murder, foulness,' would not be happy. Moreover, from the par- 
allel expression, ' vicious mole of nature,' in Ham. i. 4. 24, we may 
conclude that in this line Cordelia refers to natural defects, which 
Lear might be supposed to have just discovered; but in the next 
line to evil actions from all suspicions of which she wishes to be 
cleared." Furness agrees with Moberly as to the gradation, and 
adds: "This alone is so un-Shakespearian that of itself it would 
taint the line. . . . And mark how admirably the lines are bal- 



190 Notes [Act 1 

anced: * vicious blot or other foulness,' 'unchaste action or dis- 
honour'd step.' " 

225. But even for want, etc. We should have expected " even 
the want," as Hanmer reads, but the sense is clear, and such 
" confusion of construction " is not uncommon in S. 

226. Still-soliciting. Ever-begging. Cf. still-vexed in Temp. 
i. 2. 229, and still-closing in Id. iii. 3. 64. 

227. That. See on 214 above. 

228. Hath lost me. Hath caused me to lose. Cf. i. 2. 118 below : 
" It shall lose thee nothing." In = in respect to. 

231. Unspoke. The only instance of the form in S. Unspoken 
occurs only in Cymb. v. 5. 139. 

233. love 's not love, etc. Cf. Sonn. 116. 

234. Regards. Considerations ; as in Ham. ii. 2. 79, iii. 1. 87, 
etc. The relative often takes a singular verb, though the ante- 
cedent is plural. Cf. ii. 4. 272 below : " If it be you that stirs," etc. 

235. Entire point. Main point. 

243. Respects of. Considerations of. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 193: "base 
respects of thrift," etc. 

249. Coldest. Such harsh contracted superlatives are common. 

253. Waterish. Used contemptuously. Burgundy was the best- 
watered district of France. There is a play on the other sense of 
"weak, poor," which we have in Oth. iii. 3. 15: "waterish diet." 
S. uses the word only twice. 

254. Unprized. Not prized by others, unappreciated ; used 
nowhere else by S. 

255. Unkind. Unnatural ; or combining that sense with the 
more familiar one. Cf. iii. 4. 72 below : " his unkind daughters." 

256. " Here and where have the power of nouns : Thou losest 
this residence to find a better residence in another place " (John- 
son). 

260. Benison. Blessing ; as in Macb. ii. 4. 40 and iv. 6. 208 
below. 

263. Ye jewels. The early eds. have " The jewels," which may 



Scene I] Notes 191 

possibly be what S. wrote ; but The and Ye, being constantly writ- 
ten alike in that day, were liable to be confounded by the printer. 
Rowe's emendation is generally adopted. Washed is often applied 
to tears ; as in Much Ado, i. 1. 27, iv. 1. 156, R. and J. ii. 3. 70, 
iii. 2. 130, etc. 

267. Professed bosoms. Professed love. Pope changed professed 
to " professing ; " but bosoms = love ; as in v. 3. 50 below. Cf. M. 
for M. iv. 3. 1 39 : " And you shall have your bosom on this 
wretch" (that is, your heart's desire). See also W. T. iv. 4. 574 
and Oth. iii. I. 58. 

269. Prefer. Commend. Cf. J. C. v. 5. 62 : "Ay, if Messala 
will prefer me to you," etc. 

271. Prescribe not us. Elsewhere in S. we have prescribe to, but 
here us may be a dative, as often. 

273. At fortune 's alms. At the charity of fortune, The expres- 
sion fortune's alms occurs again in Oth. iii. 4. 122. 

274. And well are worth the want, etc. And are justly denied 
the natural kindness you have failed to show. 

275. Plighted. Complicated ; literally, folded. The quartos 
have "pleated" or " pleeted," and some modern eds. "plaited." 
Cf. Milton, Comus, 301: "the plighted clouds;" and Spenser, 
F. Q. iii. 9. 21 : " her well-plighted frock." 

276. Cover. Henley sees an allusion to Proverbs, xxviii. 13. 
287. Grossly. Palpably, evidently (Schmidt) ; as in C. of E. ii. 

2. 171, A. W. i. 3. 184, etc. 

290. Of his time. Of his life. Cf. M. of V. i. 1. 129: "my 
time something too prodigal," etc. See also i. 2. 44 below. 

292. Long-ingraffed. The quartos have "long ingrafted." 'S. 
uses both ^r^and graft. Long-ingraffed condition = " qualities 
of mind confirmed by long habit " (Malone). For condition, cf. iv. 

3. 35 below. 

296. Unconstant. Capricious ; used by S. several times, but in- 
constant oftener. Like = likely, as often. 

Moberly remarks : " These women come of themselves, and at 



192 Notes [Act 1 

once, to the feeling which it requires all Iago's arts to instil into 
Othello ; on whom it is at length urged that Desdemona must be 
irregular in mind, or she would not have preferred him to the 
' curled darlings ' of Venice." 

300. Hit. Agree ; the quarto reading. The folios have " sit," 
which some editors adopt. 

302. Offend. Injure ; as in M. of V. iv. i. 140: "Thou but 
offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud," etc. The meaning seems to 
be : if the king goes on in this way, we shall be only the worse off 
for his surrender of the kingdom to us. 

304. /' the heat. " While the iron is hot," as the proverb hath it. 

Scene II. — 1. Thou, Nature, etc. As Steevens remarks, Ed- 
mund speaks of nature in opposition to custom, and not to the 
existence of a God. Cf. 1 7 below. 

3. Stand in the plague. Be exposed to the plague, or vexation. 

4. Curiosity. "Over-nice scrupulousness" (Steevens). See 
on i. 1. 5 above. Deprive — deprive of my rights as a son, dis- 
inherit. 

5. For that. Because that. See on i. I. 219 above. Moon- 
shines = months; like moons in Oth. i. 3. 84, A. and C. iii. 12. 16, 
etc. 

6. Lag of . Lagging behind, later than. Cf. Rich. III. ii. 1. 90 : 
"That came too lag to see him buried." 

7. Compact. Compacted, put together. Cf. M. N. D. v. I. 8, 
A. Y. L. ii. 7. 5, etc. See on i. I. 70 above. 

8. Generous. Noble-minded, befitting one of noble birth. Cf. 
T. and C. ii. 2. 154, etc. 

9. Honest. Chaste; as often. Cf. A. Y. L. i. 2. 40, etc. 

16. Top the. Capell's correction of the "tooth' " of the quartos 
and the " to' th' " or " to th' " of the folios. For top = overtop, 
rise above, see Macb. iv. 3. 57, etc. 

19. Subscribed. Surrendered, signed away. Cf. T. of S. i. 1. 
81, T. and C. iv. 5. 105, etc. 



Scene II] Notes T93 

20. Confined to exhibition. Restricted to an allowance or mere 
maintenance. Cf. T. G. of V. i. 3. 69 : — 

" What maintenance he from his friends receives, 
Like exhibition shalt thou have from me." 

Nares cites Ben Jonson, Silent Woman, iii. 1 : " Behave yourself 
distinctly, and with good morality; or, I protest, I '11 take away 
your exhibition." 

21. Upon the gad. On the spur of the moment. Gad=. goad, 
or an iron-pointed rod used in driving cattle. S. uses the word 
only here and in T. A. iv. I. 103, where it means a stylus, or 
ancient pen. 

28. Terrible. Affrighted ; used passively, like many adjectives 
in -die. 

33. O'er-read. Read over. So overlooking in next line = look- 
ing over. Cf. v. 1. 50 below. 

38. Are to blame. Are to be blamed, are blamable. Active 
infinitives are often thus used passively. 

42. Essay or taste. Trial or test. For essay, cf. Sonn. no. 8: 
" And worst essays prov'd thee my best of love." S. uses the word 
only twice, having elsewhere assay, of which it is only another 
form. As Steevens notes, both essay (or assay) and taste are terms 
from royal tables. For the custom of taking the assay (or say), see 
K.John, v. 6. 28 and Rich. II. v. 5. 99. 

43. Policy and reverence. Policy of holding in reverence. For 
the construction, see on i. 4. 349 below. 

44. The best of our times. The best portions of our lives. See 
on i. 1. 290 above. 

45. Oldness. Old age ; used by S. nowhere else. 

46. Idle and fond. Weak and foolish. ¥ ox fond, cf. i. 4. 308 
and iv. 7. 60 below. For who, see on i. 1. 107 above. It is true 
that tyranny implies a person or persons, but the it shows that it is 
grammatically and rhetorically neuter. 

59. Closet. Private room, chamber ; as often. Cf. Matthew, 

KING LEAR — 1 3 



194 Notes [Act i 

vi. 6. In iii. 3. 12 below it may have the same meaning, though 
Schmidt takes it to be used in the modern sense; as in Macb. v. 

1. 6 and Oth. iv. 2. 22. 

60. Character. Handwriting; as in ii. I. 74 below. See also 
T. N. v. 1. 354, W. T. v. 2. 38, Ham. iv. 7. 53, etc. 

63. That. That is, the matter or contents. 

71. Sons at perfect age. That is, being of age. For declined, 
cf. Oth. iii. 3. 265 : " Declin'd into the vale of years." 

75. Detested. Equivalent to detestable ; as often. Cf. i. 4. 269 
and ii. 4. 215 below. 

82. Where. Whereas; as often. 

86. Pawn down. That is, lay down as a pledge. Cf. Oth. iv. 2. 
13 : "Lay down my soul at stake." 

90. Your honour. The usual address to a lord in the time of S. 
Cf. Rich. III. iii. 2. 107, no, 116, etc. Feel = test, sound. Pre- 
tence of danger — dangerous purpose. Cf. i. 4. 71 below. 

92. Auricular. Used by S. only here. 

99. Wind me into him. Insinuate yourself into his confidence. 
Cf. Cor. iii. 3. 64: "to wind Yourself into a power tyrannical." 
For the expletive me (like the Latin "ethical dative"), cf. Ham. 
ii. 2. 601 : "Who does me this?" etc. 

100. Unstate myself Give up my state, sacrifice my fortune and 
position. Cf. A. and C. iii. 13. 30: — 

" Yes, like enough, high-battled Caesar will 
Unstate his happiness," etc. 

101. To be in a due resolution. To be fully resolved (see J. C. 
iii. 1. 131, etc.) or satisfied on this point. 

102. Convey. Manage artfully. Cf. Macb. iv. 3. 71, Hen. V. i. 

2. 74, etc. 

105. These late eclipses, etc. Moberly remarks: "As to the 
current belief in astrology, we may remember that, at the time 
when this play was written, Dr. Dee, the celebrated adept, was 
grieving for his lost patroness, Queen Elizabeth; that the profii- 



Scene II] Notes 195 

gate court of James I. was in 161 8 frightened by the appearance 
of a comet into a temporary fit of gravity; and that even Charles I. 
sent ^500 as a fee to William Lilly for consulting the stars as to his 
flight from Hampton Court in 1647." Cf. Sonn. 107. 6 : — 

" The mortal moon hath her eclipse endur'd, 
And the sad augurs mock their own presage ! " 

See also Ham. i. 1. 120 and Oth. v. 2. 99. Milton has several allu- 
sions to the ominous nature of eclipses; as in the grand image in 

P. L. i. 594: — 

" as when the sun new-risen 

Looks through the horizontal misty air, 

Shorn of his beams ; or from behind the moon, 

In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds 

On half the nations, and with fear of change 

Perplexes monarchs." 

106. Though the wisdom of nature, etc. " That is, though 
natural philosophy can give account of eclipses, yet we feel their 
consequences" (Johnson). Moberly remarks: "This curious view 
is repeated, with remarkable force of language, by Sir T. Browne, 
even in the less credulous times when he wrote his Treatise on 
Vulgar Errors : * That two suns or moons should appear, is not 
worth the wonder. But that the same should fall out at the point 
of some decisive action, that these two should make but one line 
in the book of fate, and stand together in the great Ephemerides 
of God, besides the philosophical assignment of the cause, it may 
admit a Christian apprehension in the signalty.' We learn also 
from Bishop Burnet that Lord Shaftesbury believed in astrology, 
and thought that the souls of men live in the stars." 

108. Sequent. Cf. A. W. ii. 2. 56: "Indeed your 'O Lord, 
sir ! ' is very sequent to your whipping." 

113. Bias of nature. Natural tendency. The metaphor is taken 
from the game of bowls, and is a favourite one with S. 

115. Hollowness. Insincerity. For the figure, cf. i. I. 148. 



196 



Notes [Act 1 



116. Disquietly. Causing disquiet; used by S. only here. 

118. Lose. See on i. I. 228 above. 

121. Foppery. Foolishness; as in M. of V. ii. 5. 35. 

123. We make guilty, etc. Cf. /. C. i. 2. 140: — 

" The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 
But in ourselves, that we are underlings." 

Disasters is an astrological term. 

125. On necessity. As in the folios; the quartos have " by neces- 
sity," which, according to Schmidt, is not found elsewhere in S. 
For on necessity, cf. L. L. L. i. I. 149, 155. Cf. on (or upon) com- 
pulsion (M. of V. iv. 1. 183, 1 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 261, T. and C. ii. 2. 
153) and by compulsion (here and in K. John,\\. I. 218). Schmidt 
considers that " S. has an unmistakable preference for on and upon 
to express that which gives the motive or impulse to anything;" 
but some of the examples he gives can be readily balanced by 
others in which other prepositions are used. For instance, he 
quotes "on constraint" from K. John, v. I. 28; but we find 
" by constraint " in A. W. iv. 2. 16. So against "upon instinct" 
in 1 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 331, we may put "by instinct " in Rich. III. ii. 
3. 42, etc. " On malice " occurs in Rich. II. i. 1.9, while elsewhere 
we have " through malice," " from malice," " out of malice," " with 
malice," " in malice," etc., some of these occurring several times each. 

126. Treacher s. Traitors; used by S. only here. Cf. Spenser, 
F. Q. i. 4. 41 : " No knight, but treachour, full of false despight." 

Spherical predominance is an astrological expression. Cf. 
predominant in A. W. i. I. 21 1: — 

" Helena. The wars have so kept you under that you must needs 
have been born under Mars. 

Parolles. When he was predominant. 

Helena. When he was retrograde, I think, rather ; " 

and W. T. i. 2. 202 : — 

" It is a bawdy planet, that will strike 
Where 't is predominant." 



Scene ii] Notes 197 

128. Influence is another astrological word, rarely used by S. 
except with reference, direct or indirect, to the power of the heav- 
enly bodies. Cf. Milton, P. L. iv. 669 : — 

"which these soft fires 
Not only enlighten, but with kindly heat 
Of various influence foment and warm, 
Temper or nourish, or in part shed down 
Their stellar virtue on all kinds that grow 
On earth," etc. 

Cf. Job, xxxviii. 31. Spherical — planetary ; the only instance of 
this sense in S. 

131. Like the catastrophe, etc. "That is, just as the circum- 
stance which decides the catastrophe of a play intervenes on the 
very nick of time" (Heath). It may, however, be a hit at the 
inartistic structure of the early comedies. 

132. Cue. One of S.'s favourite figures drawn from stage prac- 
tice. Like Tom 0' Bedlam = like a " Bedlam beggar," such as 
Edgar afterward pretends to be. See ii. 3. 6-20 below. 

134. Fa, sol, la, mi. Dr. Burney says: "S. shows by the con- 
text that he was well acquainted with the property of these syllables 
in solmization, which imply a series of sounds so unnatural that 
ancient musicians prohibited their use. Edmund, speaking of 
eclipses as portents and prodigies, compares the dislocation of 
events, the times being out of joint, to the unnatural and offensive 
sounds, fa sol la mi." Probably, however, Edmund is merely 
singing to himself in order not to seem to observe Edgar's 
approach. 

141. Succeed. Follow, come to pass. Cf. success = issue, whether 
good or bad; as in "bad success" (T. and C. ii. 2. 117), "vile 
success" {Oth. iii. 3. 322), etc. 

144. Diffidences. Distrust, suspicions. Cf. K. John, i. 1. 65 : 
" And wound her honour with this diffidence." S. uses the word 
only twice. 



198 Notes [Act 1 

145. Dissipation of cohorts would seem to mean the breaking up 
of military organizations ; but it is very likely either spurious or 
corrupt. 

160. With the mischief of your person. That is, even with harm 
to your person. For the intransitive use of allay, cf. 3 Hen. VI. i. 
4. 146: "And when the rage allays, the rain begins." 

163. Have a continent forbearance. " Restrain your feelings 
and keep away" (Craig). 

166. Fitly. When the fit time comes. 

173. I?7iage and horror. Horrible reality. For the "hendi- 
adys," cf. 43 above. 

178. Harms. Harmful acts. For the plural, cf. R. of L. 28, 
1694, 1 Hen. VI. iv. 7. 46, etc. 

180. Practices. Plots, artifices; as often. Cf. ii. I. 75 below. 

Scene III. — 2. Chiding of For of with verbals, cf. ii. 1. 40 and 
v. 3. 206 below. 

3. Coleridge remarks of Oswald : " The steward should be 
placed in exact antithesis to Kent, as the only character of utter 
irredeemable baseness in S. Even in this the judgment and inven- 
tion of the poet are very observable ; for what else could the willing 
tool of a Goneril be ? Not a vice but this of baseness was left open 
to him." 

8. On every trifle. On every trifling occasion. In Temp. ii. 2. 
8, we find " For every trifle." 

15. Distaste. Cf. T. and C. ii. 2. 66 : "Although my will distaste 
what it elected." 

17. Idle. Weak, foolish ; as in i. 2. 46 above. 

18. Authorities. For the plural, cf. M. for M. iv. 4. 6: "And 
why meet him at the gates, and redeliver our authorities there? " 

21. With checks as flatteries, etc. This line has puzzled the 
critics, and various unsatisfactory emendations have been proposed. 
Taking it as it stands, we may accept Tyrwhitt's explanation : " with 
checks, as well as flatteries, when they (that is, flatteries) are seen 



Scene IV] Notes 199 

to be abused." Craig makes as = " instead of, for (that is, rather 
than)." 

Scene IV. — 2. Diffuse. Disorder it, and so disguise it, as he 
had disguised his dress. Cf. Hen. V. v. 2. 61 : " diffus'd attire." 
There, as here and in Rich. III. i. 2. 78, the early eds. spell the 
word defuse, which some editors retain; but the folio has " diffused " 
in M. W. iv. 4. 54: "some diffused song; " where the word seems 
to mean wild or disordered. 

4. Raz'd. Erased. Cf. Sonn. 25. 1 1 : " from the book of honour 
razed quite," etc. 

6. So may it come. It may come to pass; not a parenthetical 
wish, as some take it. 

12. What dost thou profess ? What dost thou " set up for," what 
is thy profession, or calling? Cf. T. of S. ind. 2. 22: "by present 
profession a tinker." See also J. C. i. 1. 5, Ham. v. 1. 35, etc. 
Kent, in his reply, plays upon the word. 

16. Converse. Have converse with, associate with. Cf. A. Y. L. 
v. 2. 66, etc. 

1 7. To fear judgment = to fear litigation, or being brought before 
a judge. Schmidt makes it refer to the Last Judgment. 

18. To eat no fish. That is, to be a Protestant. To eat fish on 
account of religious scruples was in Queen Elizabeth's time the 
mark of a Papist and an enemy to the government. 

25. Who. Eor whom, as often. Cf. iv. 3. 8 and v. 3. 250 below. 

23. Keep honest counsel. Keep a secret when honour requires it. 

34. Curious = elegant or elaborate. Cf. Cymb. v. 5. 361 : "a 
most curious mantle," etc. 

38. To love. That is, as to love. For the ellipsis, cf. ii. 4. 12 
below. 

43. Knave. Servant; originally, boy. The modern sense was, 
however, coming into use in the time of S. "Cf. Temp. ii. 1. 166, etc. 

47. Clotpoll. Clodpole, blockhead. It is used literally ( = head) 
in Cymb. iv. 2. 184 : " I have sent Cloten's clotpoll down the stream." 



200 Notes [Act I 

55. Roundest. Bluntest, plainest. Cf. T. N. ii. 3. 102, Ham. 
iii. 1. 191, etc. 

60. That . . . as. See on i. 1. 92 above. 

68. Rememberest. Remindest. Cf. K. John, iii. 4. 96 : " Re- 
members me of all his gracious parts," etc. 

69. Most faint. Very slight. The neglect has been so faint that 
he has been doubtful whether it was intentional. 

71. Curiosity. " Scrupulous watchfulness of his own dignity" 
(Steevens). See on i. 1.6 above, and cf. i. 2. 4. Very pretence = 
actual intention. See on i. 2. 88 above. 

73. This two days. S. uses this or these interchangeably in such 
expressions. 

76. The fool hath much pined azvay. As Clarke notes, there is 
much significance in this little speech and in Lear's rejoinder : " It 
serves ... to mark him at once as a creation apart from all other 
of Shakespeare's fools; it serves to depict Cordelia's power of 
attaching and endearing those around her; and it serves to denote 
her old father's already awakened consciousness that he has done 
her grievous injustice." 

87. Bandy. A metaphor from tennis. Cf. R. and J. ii. 5. 14 : — 

" Had she affections and warm youthful blood, 
She would be as swift in motion as a ball ; 
My words would bandy her to my sweet love, 
And his to me ; " 

L. L. L. v. 2. 29: "Well bandied both; a set of wit well play'd," 
etc. Furness quotes Cotgrave, Fr. Diet. : " Iou'er a bander 6° a 
racier contre. To bandy against, at Tennis; and (by metaphor) 
to pursue with all insolencie, rigour, extremitie." 

88. Strucken. Cf. /. C. ii. 2. 114: "Caesar, 't is strucken 
eight." 

89. Fool-ball player. The game was then " a somewhat vulgar 
recreation, practised by the London apprentices in Cheapside to 
the terror of respectable citizens." Cf. C. of E. ii. 1. 8^. 



Scene IV] Notes 201 

98. Earnest. Money paid in advance to bind the bargain. Cf. 
W. T. iv. 4. 659, etc. 

99. Enter Fool. "'Now, our joy, though last, not least,' my 
dearest of all Fools, Lear's Fool ! Ah, what a noble heart, a gen- 
tle and a loving one, lies beneath that parti-coloured jerkin ! . . . 
Look at him ! It may be your eyes see him not as mine do, but he 
appears to me of a light delicate frame, every feature expressive of 
sensibility even to pain, with eyes lustrously intelligent, a mouth 
blandly beautiful, and withal a hectic flush upon his cheek. Oh 
that I were a painter ! Oh that I could describe him as I knew 
him in my boyhood, when the Fool made me shed tears, while 
Lear did but terrify me ! . . . When the Fool enters, throwing his 
coxcomb at Kent, and instantly follows it up with allusions to the 
miserable rashness of Lear, we ought to understand him from that 
moment to the last. Throughout this scene his wit, however varied, 
still aims at the same point, and in spite of threats, and regardless 
how his words may be construed by Goneril's creatures, with the 
eagerness of a filial love he prompts the old king to ' resume the 
shape which he had cast off.' 'This is not altogether fool, my 
lord.' But, alas! it is too late; and when driven from the scene 
by Goneril, he turns upon her with an indignation that knows no 
fear of the 'halter' for himself: 'A fox when one has caught her, 
And such a daughter, Should sure to the slaughter, If my cap would 
buy a halter.' That such a character should be distorted by players, 
printers, and commentators! Observe every word he speaks; his 
meaning, one would imagine, could not be misinterpreted; and 
when at length, finding his covert reproaches can avail nothing, he 
changes his discourse to simple mirth, in order to distract the sor- 
rows of his master. When Lear is in the storm, who is with him? 
None — not even Kent — ' None but the Fool ; who labours to out- 
jest His heart-struck injuries.' The tremendous agony of Lear's 
mind would be too painful, and even deficient in pathos, without 
this poor faithful servant at his side. It is he that touches our hearts 
with pity, while Lear fills the imagination to aching " (C. A. Brown). 



202 Notes [Act I 

After quoting this and Charles Cowden-Clarke's comments on the 
Fool, in which he takes the ground that he is " a youth, not a grown 
man," Furness remarks: "After these long and good notes by my 
betters I wish merely to record humbly but firmly my conviction 
that the Fool, one of Shakespeare's most wonderful characters, is 
not a boy, but a man — one of the shrewdest, tenderest of men, 
whom long life had made shrewd, and whom afflictions had made 
tender; his wisdom is too deep for any boy, and could be found 
only in a man, removed by not more than a score of years from the 
king's own age; he had been Lear's companion from the days of 
Lear's early manhood." For myself, I fully agree with this latter 
view of the Fool. Not only does much that he says show a shrewd- 
ness which can only be the result of long experience and observation 
of men and things, but his intense sympathy for Lear seems to me 
beyond the capacity of boyish years. On the other hand, Lear's 
addressing him as " boy " and " pretty knave," and the like, may 
be explained, partly by the force of habit — for he was a mere boy 
when he first became Lear's companion, and, it may be added, 
would from his very position naturally continue to be regarded and 
treated as a boy — and partly from his slight and fragile physique, 
which would make him appear more like an overgrown boy than a 
man. 

Coxcomb. The fool's cap. Furness quotes Minsheu (s. v. cockes- 
combe, ed. 1617) : "Englishmen use to call vaine and proud brag- 
gers, and men of meane discretion and judgement Coxcombes. 
Because naturall Idiots and Fooles haue, and still doe accustome 
themselues to weare in their Cappes, cock's feathers, or a hat with 
a necke and head of a cocke on the top and a bell thereon, &c, 
and thinke themselues finely fitted and proudly attired therewith, 
so we compare a presumptuous bragging fellow, and wanting all 
true Iudgement and discretion, to such an Idiote foole, and call 
him also Coxecombe." 

102. You were best. It were best for you. The pronoun was 
originally the dative, but came to be regarded as a nominative. 



Scene IV] Notes 203 

104. One's part that's, etc. Abbott (Grammar, 81) says that 
" we never use the possessive inflection of the unemphatic one as an 
antecedent," as here; but the construction does not strike me as 
wholly unfamiliar now, at least colloquially. 

106. Thou 'It catch cold. That is, be turned out of doors and 
exposed to the weather. 

108. On 's. Of his. On was often used for of, especially in con- 
tractions like this. 

no. Nuncle. Probably a contraction of mine uncle, the cus- 
tomary appellation of the licensed foob to his superiors (Nares) . 
Nuncle and naunt are said to be still in vulgar use in Yorkshire. 

113. Living. Property. Cf. W. T. iv. 3. 104: "where my 
land and living lies." See also Mark, xii. 44, Luke, viii. 43, etc. 

116. The whip. Whipping, as Douce has shown, was a common 
punishment of fools. Cf. A. Y. L. i. 2. 91, where Celia says to 
Touchstone, " you '11 be whipped for taxation [that is, satire] one of 
these days." See also 168 below. 

118. Lady the brach. Cf. 1 Hen. LV. iii. I. 240: "I had rather 
hear Lady, my brach, howl in Irish." A brach was a female hound. 
See also iii. 6. 69 below. 

120. A pestilent gall to me! Moberly explains this as "a pas- 
sionate remembrance of Oswald's insolence." Furness says : " This 
does not satisfy me, but I can offer nothing better." Why may it 
not refer to the Fool, who has just nettled his master into a hint of 
the whip? Cf. " A bitter fool ! " just below. 

126. Oivest. Ownest. See on i. 1. 197 above. 

128. Trowest. Apparently here = knowest. The usual mean- 
ing of trozu was think or believe; but trow you was often = do you 
know? Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 189 : "Trow you who hath done this?" 
T. of S. i. 2. 165 : " Trow you whither I am going? " etc. 

129. Set. Stake, risk. Cf. Rich. LLL. v. 4. 9 : "I have set my life 
upon a cast." Throwest seems to be = thfowest for ; but it may 
be = " hast won by thy last throw " (Schmidt). 

136. Nothing can be made of nothing. See on i. 1. 85 above. 



204 Notes [Act i 

144-159. That lord . . . snatching. These lines are omitted in 
the folios; "perhaps for political reasons," says Johnson, "as they 
seemed to censure the monopolies." 

150. Motley. The parti-colored dress of the professional fool. 
Cf. A. Y. L. ii. 7. 34, 58, etc. The word is = fool in Sonn. no. 2 
and A. Y. L. hi. 3. 79. 

157. A monopoly out. That is, legally taken out, issued for my 
benefit. Warburton considered this " a satire on the gross abuses 
of monopolies at that time, and the corruption and avarice of the 
courtiers, who commonly went shares with the patentee." Steevens 
quotes sundry hits at the same abuse from other writers of the time. 

165. Thy ass. An allusion to ^Esop's fable of the man and his 
ass. 

167. If I speak, etc. "If I speak on this occasion like myself 
— that is, like a fool, foolishly — let not me be whipped, but him 
who first finds it to be as I have said — that is, the king himself, 
who was likely to be soonest sensible of the truth and justness of 
the sarcasm, and who, he insinuates, deserved whipping for the silly 
part he had acted" (Eccles). 

170. Fools had ne^er less grace in a year. "There never was a 
time when fools were less in favour; and the reason is that they 
were never so little wanted, for wise men now supply their place " 
(Johnson). 

171. Foppish. Foolish; the only instance of the word in S. For 
the rhyme with apish, cf. that of Tom and am in ii. 3. 20, 21 be- 
low ; also that of corn and harm in iii. 6. 42, 44. To these 
examples Ellis {Early Eng. Pronunciation, iii. 953) adds seven 
from other works of S. See R. of L. 554, M. N. D. ii. I. 48, 54, 
263, iii. 3. 348, v. 1. 303, and L. L. L. v. 2. 55. 

1 76. Used it. Made a practice of it. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 50. 
179. Then they, etc. Steevens compares Heywood's Rape of 
Lucrece, 1608 : — 

" When Tarquin first in court began, 
And was approved king, 



Scene IV] Notes 205 

Some men for sodden joy gan weep, 
But I for sorrow sing." 

191. Thee. Cf. T of A. iv. 3. 277: "Ay, that I am not thee; " 
2 Hen. VI. iv. I. 117: "it is thee I fear," etc. 

194. Enter Goneril. "The monster Goneril prepares what is 
necessary, while the character of Albany renders a still more mad- 
dening grievance possible — namely, Regan and Cornwall in per- 
fect sympathy of monstrosity. Not a sentiment, not an image, 
which can give pleasure on its own account is admitted. When- 
ever these creatures are introduced, and they are brought forward 
as little as possible, pure horror reigns throughout " (Coleridge). 

What ?nakes that frontlet on ? What causes that frown like a 
frontlet on your brow ? A frontlet was a band of cloth worn at 
night on the forehead to keep it smooth. Steevens quotes The 
Four P's, 1569 (the Pardoner has asked why women are so long 
dressing when they get up in the morning, and the Pedler replies, 
with a play on the word let = hindrance) : — 

" Forsooth, women have many lettes, 
And they be masked in many nettes : 
As frontlettes, fyllettes, partlettes, and bracelettes; 
And then theyr bonettes, and theyr poynettes. 
By these lettes and nettes, the lette is suche, 
That spede is small, when haste is muche." 

Clarke cites Chapman, Hero and Leander : — 

" E'en like the forehead cloth that in the night, 
Or when they sorrow, ladies us'd to wear." 

198. An O. A cipher. For "the allusion reversed," see W. T. 
i. 2. 6 (Malone). 

205. A shealed peascod. A shelled pea-pod ; a mere husk. 
Shealed is only the old spelling of shelled,, which some eds. give 
instead. S. uses the verb nowhere else. 

207. Other. For the plural, cf. M.N.D. iv. 1. 71 : "That he 
awaking when the other do," etc. Retinue is accented on the 



206 Notes [Act i 

penult ; the only instance in which S. uses the word in verse. So 
Milton in the two instances in his verse ; and Tennyson regularly. 

209. Rank. Gross ; as in Ham. i. 2. 136, iii. 3. 36, etc. 

210. / had thought . . . To have found. Cf. Ham. v. I. 268, 
Much Ado, ii. 1. 261, etc. 

213. Put it on. Promote or encourage it. Cf. Ham. v. 2. 394, etc. 

214. Allowance. Permission, sanction. Cf. ii. 2. 108 below. 
Moberly remarks: "The rest of the sentence labours under a 
plethora of relatives. The meaning, however, is simple : ' If you 
instigate your men to riot I will check it, even though it offends 
you ; as that offence, which would otherwise be a shame, would be 
proved by the necessity to be a discreet proceeding.' ' Yes,' replies 
the Fool, ' and so the young cuckoo, wanting the nest to itself, was 
under the regrettable necessity of biting off the head of its foster- 
mother the sparrow ; which, under the circumstances, was not a 
shame, but an act of discretion.' " 

215. Scape. Not '"scape," as usually printed, being found in 
contemporaneous prose. 

216. The tender of a wholesome weal. The regard for a healthy 
commonwealth. Cf. I Hen. IV. v. 4. 49 : - — 

" Thou hast redeem'd thy lost opinion, 
And show'd thou mak'st some tender of my life." 

For wholesome, cf. Ham. i. 5. 70, iii. 4. 6$, Alacb. iv. 3. 105, etc.; 
and for weal, Macb. iii. 4. 76, v. 2. 27, Cor. ii. 3. 189, etc. 

218. Which else, etc. Which necessity would justify as discreet 
proceeding, though otherwise (that is, but for the necessity), it 
would be shameful. 

222. It head. In the folio its occurs but once (M. for M. i. 2. 
4), while it 's is found nine times. It as a genitive (or "possessive ") 
occurs fourteen times (not counting its repetition in the same pas- 
sage), in seven of which it precedes own. This it is an early pro- 
vincial form of the old genitive. In our version of the Bible, its 



Scene IV] Notes 207 

is found only in Leviticus, xxv. 5, where the ed. of 161 1 has "of it 
own accord." 

For the allusion to the cuckoo laying its eggs in the nests of 
other birds, cf. R. of L. 849, 1 Hen. IV. v. I. 60, etc. 

223. Darkling. In the dark. S. found the almost identical 
image applied to the story of Lear as told by Spenser, F. Q. ii. 10. 
30: — 

" But true it is that, when the oyle is spent, 
The light goes out, and weeke [wick] is throwne away : 
So when he had resignd his regiment, 
His daughter gan despise his drouping day, 
And wearie wax of his continuall stay." 

226. I would you would. Cf. I Hen. IV. 3. 112, M. N. D. v. 1. 
255, etc. 

227. Whereof . . . fraught. Elsewhere in S. fraught is fol- 
lowed by with. 

228. Dispositions. Moods, humours; as in 299 below. Cf. 
A. Y. L. v. 1. 113: "Now I will be your Rosalind in a more 
coming-on disposition," etc. 

231. Whoop, Jug ! I love thee. Probably a quotation from some 
old song, but having no special point here, unless perhaps to 
express ironically the Fool's estimation of Goneril. Jug was the 
old nickname for Joan, also used as a term of endearment. 

234. His notion weakens. For notion = mind, cf. Cor. v. 6. 
107 and Macb. iii. I. 83; the only other instances of the word in S. 
Discernings and lethargied he uses nowhere else. 

241. Which. Steevens takes this to be = whom, referring to 
Lear ; but it maybe "the commonest connective used improperly," 
as the illiterate sometimes use it now. 

243. This admiration. That is, the astonishment you affect. 
We do not find the noun savour used elsewhere by S. in this meta- 
phorical way; but cf. the verb in L. L. L. iv. 2. 165, T. N. v. I. 
322, W. T. ii. 3. 119, Hen. V. i. 2. 250, 295, etc. 



208 Notes [Act I 

244. Other your new pranks. For the order, cf. 2 Hen. IV. iv. 
4. 53 : " With Poins and other his continual followers," etc. 

248. Debosttd. An old spelling of debauched, and the only one 
found in the folio in the four instances in which the word occurs. 

250. Shows. Appears ; as in 274 below. 

Epicurism . . . lust . . . tavern . . . brothel. " An instance of what 
Corson calls a respective construction. The first word refers to the 
third, and the second to the fourth " (Furness). See on iv. 2. 65 
below. 

251. Makes. The singular verb with two singular subjects is 
not uncommon. 

252. Grac'd. Full of grace, dignified. Cf. Macb. iii. 4. 41 : 
" the grac'd person of our Banquo." Speak for = call for, de- 
mand. Cf. Cor. iii. 2. 41 : " when extremities speak " (that is, call 
to action) ; Temp. ii. 1. 207 : "the occasion speaks thee" (calls 
upon thee), etc. 

255. Disquantity. Diminish ; used by S. nowhere else. Cf. 
disnatured in 290 below. 

256. Depend. Be dependent, continue in service. 

257. Besort. Become, befit. Cf. the noun in Oth. i. 3. 239. 

258. Which. Who ; as often. 

266. Marble-hearted. Cf. marble-breasted in T. TV. v. I. 127. 

268. Sea-monster. The commentators have wasted much ink on 
the question whether S. refers to the hippopotamus or to the 
whale. If any particular monster is meant (which is doubtful), it 
may be that in M. of V. iii. 2. 57, or some other old classical 
story. 

269. Detested. See on i. 2. 75 above. 

270. Choice and rarest. Perhaps for choicest and rarest. Cf. 
M. for M. iv. 6. 13 : "The generous and gravest citizens," etc. 

273. Worships. Honour, dignity. Cf. W. T.\. 2. 314 : "rear'd 
to worship " (that is, raised to honour), etc. For the plural, see 
on iv. 6. 35 below. 

275. An engine. The rack. Steevens quotes Beaumont and 



Scene IV] Notes 209 

Fletcher, Night- Walker, iv. 5 : "Their souls shot through with 
adders, torn on engines." 

279. Dear. Here apparently = precious. Cf. i. 1. 177 above, 
and iii. 1. 19 below. 

287. Derogate. Degenerate, debased. For the form, cf. felici- 
tate, i. 1. 70 above. 

288. Teem. Bear children. Cf. Rich. II v. 2. 91 : " my teem- 
ing date," etc. For the transitive use, see Macb. iv. 3. 176, etc. 

290. Thwart. Perverse ; the only instance of the adjective in 
S. Cf. Milton, P. L. viii. 132 : " Mov'd contrary with thwart ob- 
liquities ; " and Id. x. 1075 : " the slant lightning, whose thwart 
flame, driven down," etc. Disnatur 'd = unnatural, wanting in natu- 
ral affection. The word is used only once by S., like sundry other 
compounds with dis- : dislimn, dismask, dispiteous, disorbed, dis- 
property, disquantity (255 above), disunite, disvalue, disvouch, etc. 

292. Cadent. Falling (Latin cadens) ; used by S. only here ; 
and cadence only in L. I. L. iv. 2. 126. 

293. Her mother's pains and benefits. Her maternal pains and 
good offices, her loving attention to the training of her child. 

295. How sharper, etc. Malone compares Psalms, cxl. 3. 
299. Disposition. See on 228 above. 

307. Untented. That cannot be probed, incurable. Cf. detested 
= detestable, i. 2. 75 above. For tent = a probe, cf. T. and C. ii. 
2. 16: — 

" the tent that searches 
To the bottom of the worst." 

For the verb, see Ham. ii. 2. 626 : " I '11 tent him to the quick." 

308. Fond. Foolish. See on i. 2. 46 above. 

309. Beweep. Cf. Sonn. 29. 2 : " I all alone beweep my outcast 
state," etc. 

313. Comfortable. In an active sense = ready to comfort. Cf. 
i. 4. 313 above and ii. 2. 166 below. See also A. W. i. 1. 86 : "Be 
comfortable to my mother," etc. 

KING LEAR — 1 4 



210 Notes [Act i 

325-329. Ellis says that the last three rhymes are remarka- 
ble, especially the last, including the word halter. Daughter and 
after are also rhymed in T. of S. i. I. 245, 246 and W. T. iv. 1. 27, 
28. In the former of these two, the rhyme, as here in Lear, may 
be meant to be ridiculous. 

332. At point. Ready, prepared for any emergency. Cf. iii. I. 
33 below and Ham. i. 2. 200. 

333. Buzz. Whisper. Cf. Hen. VIII. ii. I. 148: — 

" did you not of late days hear 
A buzzing of a separation 
Between the king and Katherine? " 

334. Enguard. Surround as with a guard, protect; used by S. 
only here. 

335. In mercy. At his mercy. Cf. M. of V. iv. 1. 355 : — 

" And the offender's life lies in the mercy 
Of the duke only ; " 

and L. L. L. v. 2. 856: "That lie within the mercy of your wit." 
"In misericordia is the legal phrase" (Malone). 

337. Still. Ever. See on i. 1. 226 above. 

338. Taken. That is, taken with harm, be harmed by others. 
Harms = causes of harm. 

345. Full. Used adverbially; as often. Cf. W. T. i. 2. 129: 
" To be full like me," etc. Particular = personal, individual. Cf. 
v. 1. 30 below, and the noun in ii. 4. 290. 

347. Compact. " Unite one circumstance with another so as 
to make a consistent account" (Johnson). More is metrically a 
dissyllable. 

349. This milky gentleness and cotirse. This weak gentleness 
of your course. For the construction, see on i. 2. 43 and 173 
above. Cf. T. of A. iii. 1. 57 : "A faint and milky heart ; " and 
" milk-liver'd," iv. 2. 50 below. 

351. At task. Liable to be "taken to task," as we say. 

354. Striving to better, etc. Cf. Sonn. 103. 9 : — 



Scene v] Notes a 1 1 

" Were it not sinful then, striving to mend, 
To mar the subject that before was well ? " 

356. The event. That is, the event will show ; nous verrons. 

Scene V. — 1. Gloster. The city of Gloucester, which S. chose 
to make the residence of the Duke of Cornwall and Regan, in order 
to give a probability to their setting out late from there on a 
visit to the Earl of Gloster, whose castle may be supposed to be 
near that city. 

8. Brains. S. makes drains plural, except in A. W. hi. 2. 16: 
" The brains of my Cupid 's knocked out," where the intervening 
singular may perhaps account for the irregularity. As brain and 
brains were used indiscriminately (except in such phrases as " to 
beat out the brains"), it is not strange that the pronoun referring 
to the words should be used somewhat loosely, at least in vulgar 
parlance. 

9. Kibes. Chilblains. Cf. Temp. ii. 1. 276, Ham. v. 1. 153, etc. 
11. Thy wit shall ne'er go slipshod. "For you show you have 

no wit in undertaking your present journey." 

14. Shalt see. The omission of thou as subject is common. 
Kindly here = " both affectionately and like the rest of her kind " 
(Mason). 

15. Crab. That is, a crab apple. Cf. M. N. D. ii. I. 48, etc. 
20. On 's. See on i. 4. 108 above. Just below, in 20, we have 

of— on. 

25. 7" did her wrong. Weiss remarks : " The beautiful soul of 
Cordelia, that is little talked of by herself, and is but stingily set 
forth by circumstance, engrosses our feeling in scenes from whose 
threshold her filial piety is banished. We know what Lear is so 
pathetically remembering; the sisters tell us in their cruellest mo- 
ments; it mingles with the midnight storm a sigh of the daugh- 
terhood that was repulsed. In the pining of the Fool we detect it. 
Through every wail or gust of this awful symphony of madness, 
ingratitude, and irony, we feel a woman's breath." 



212 Notes [Act II 

34. Be. Often used in questions, perhaps on account of the 
doubt implied. 

36. The seven stars. The Pleiades. Cf. 1 Hen. IV. i. 2. 16. 
The Pleiades have been familiar as household words from the earli- 
est times, and "the seven stars" has always been the popular Eng- 
lish name for them. Moe (= more) is regularly plural. 

40. To take 't again, etc. I am inclined to agree with Johnson 
that Lear is here " meditating on his assumption of royalty " (John- 
son), rather than on "his daughter's having in so violent a manner 
deprived him of those privileges which before she had agreed to 
grant him" (Steevens). 

47. O, let me not be mad, etc. Dr. Bucknill remarks : " This 
self-consciousness of gathering madness is common in various forms 
of the disease. ... A most remarkable instance of this was pre- 
sented in the case of a patient, whose passionate, but generous, 
temper became morbidly exaggerated after a blow upon the head. 
His constantly expressed fear was that of impending madness; and 
when the calamity he so much dreaded had actually arrived, and he 
raved incessantly and incoherently, one frequently heard the very 
words of Lear proceeding from his lips : ' Oh, let me not be 
mad ! ' " 



ACT II 



Scene I. — 1. Save thee. That is, God save thee. Cf. T. G. of 
V.\. 1. 70, T. N. iii. 1. 1, 76, etc. For the full form, see Much 
Ado, iii. 2. 82, v. 1. 327, A. Y. L. v. 2. 20, etc. 

9. Ear-kissing. With lips touching the hearer's ear. The 
quartos have " eare-bussing," in which there may be a play on 
buzzing (see on i. 4. 333 above). 

11. Toward. In preparation, near at hand; as in iii. 3. 20 and 
iv. 6. 192 below. 



Scene I] Notes 213 

18. Queasy. Delicate, to be handled nicely. 

27. Upon his party. On his side. Delius thinks that in order 
to confuse his brother and urge him to flight, Edmund asks him 
first whether he has not spoken against Cornwall, and then, revers- 
ing the question, whether he has not said something on the side of 
Cornwall against Albany. Craig suggests that the meaning may 
be : " against Cornwall's party, which is soon to be opposed to that 
of Albany." 

28. Advise yourself. Consider. Cf. T. A r . iv. 2. 102: "Advise 
you what you say," etc. 

31. Quit you. Acquit yourself. Cf. I Corinthians, xvi. 13. 

32. Yield! come before my father ! This is spoken loud so as 
to be heard outside. 

35. / have seen drunkards, etc. Steevens quotes Marston, 
Dutch Courtezan, iv. 1 : " Nay, looke you ; for my owne part, if I 
have not as religiously vowd my hart to you, — been drunk to your 
healthe, swalowd flap-dragons, eate glasses, drunke urine, stabd 
arms, and don all the offices of protested gallantrie for your sake." 

40. Mumbling. Either the participle with of added (cf. Ham. 
ii. 1. 92) or the verbal with a omitted; more likely the former. 

43. This way. "A wrong way should be pointed to " (Capell). 

47. But that. Following the when in 43. The construction is 
not uncommon. Cf. Ham. iv. 7. 160: — 

" When in your motion you are hot and dry — 
As make your bouts more violent to that end — 
And that he calls for drink," etc. 

51. Loathly. Loathingly ; the only instance of the adverb in S. 
The adjective occurs several times ; and so does the noun loathness. 

52. Motion. A fencing term, meaning an attack as opposed 
to guard or parrying. Cf. the passage from Ham. in note on 47 
above. 

53. Charges home, etc. Cf. Oth. v. 1.2: " Wear thy good rapier 
bare, and put it home," etc. 



214 Notes [Act II 

54. landd. The quartos have " lancht " or " launcht," but lance 
and launch seem to have been often used interchangeably. 

55. But when. The quarto reading; the folios have "And 
when." Furness adopts Staunton's conjecture of " whe'r " ( == 
whether) for when, which is very plausible; but there may be a 
change of construction in Or whether, or an ellipsis : Or whether 
(it was that he was) gasted, etc. Best alarum' 'd = thoroughly 
awakened. The verb occurs again in Macb. ii. 1. 53. 

57. Gasted. Frightened. Nares cites an instance of gast as a 
participle from Mirrour for Magistrates : " Thou never wast in 
all thy life so ghast." Gaster was another form of the word. Cf. 
Gifford, Dial, on Witches, 1603 : " If they run at him with a spit 
red hote, they gaster him so sore," etc. Gastness ( = ghastliness) 
occurs in Oth. v. I. 106. 

60. Dispatch. That is, dispatch him ; or = Dispatch is the 
word. Cf. death in 65 just below. 

61. Arch. Chief, master; used by S. only here. Steevens 
quotes Heywood, If you Know, etc. : "Poole, that arch, for truth 
and honesty." 

67. Bight. Fixed, settled. Cf. T. and C. v. 10. 24 : — 

" You vile abominable tents, 
Thus proudly pight upon our Phrygian plains." 

Straight-pight ( = erect) occurs in Cymb. v. 5. 164. It was the 
old participle of pitch ; also the past tense, as in Spenser, F. Q. 
i. 2. 42 : — 

" Then brought she me into this desert waste, 
And by my wretched lovers side me pight." 

Curst — harsh, sharp (as in T. N. iii. 2. 46) ; often = shrewish. 

69. Unpossessing. Incapable of inheriting ; a bastard being, as 
Blackstone says, " nullius filius," and therefore of kin to nobody. 

70. If I would. If I were disposed to, if I should. Reposal 
(used by S. only here) is analogous to disposal. "The words 
virtue, or worth are in loose construction with the rest of the 



Scene I] Notes 215 

sentence; 'the reposure of any trust, (or the belief in any) virtue, 
or worth in thee ' " (Wright). 

72. Faith 'd. Believed, credited; used by S. only here. 

74. Character. Handwriting. See on i. 2. 60 above. 

75* Suggestion. Prompting to evil ; the usual meaning of the 
word in S. The verb suggest is often used in a similar sense. For 
practice see on i. 2. 180 above. 

76. Dullard. Cf. Cymb. v. 5. 265 : " What, mak'st thou me a 
dullard in this act ? " S. uses the word only twice. 

77. Not. For the transposition (a common one) cf. iv. 2. 2 below. 

78. Pregnant. Ready; or about to appear (in action, as truth, 
etc., according to the connection). This is a frequent metaphorical 
sense of the word. 

79. Strong. Obdurate. For the bad sense of the word, cf. 
Rich. II. v. 3. 59: "O heinous, strong, and bold conspiracy; " and 
T. of A. iv. 3. 45 : " strong thief." Here the word seems in per- 
fect keeping with the fastened (= confirmed, hardened) which 
follows. 

80. / never got him. He is no son of mine. For get = beget, 
cf. iii. 4. 146 below. 

81. Hark! etc. A tucket (see stage-direction) was a set of 
notes on the trumpet, used as a signal for a march. The word is 
found in the text of Hen. V. iv. 2. 35. 

82. Ports. Portals, gates; as in T. and C. iv. 4. 113, 138, 
Cor. i. 7. 1, v. 6. 6, etc. 

83. His picture, etc. Lord Campbell remarks: "One would 
suppose that photography, by which this mode of catching crimi- 
nals is now practised, had been invented in the time of Lear." 
Furness adds that photography has merely been called to our aid 
in continuing a practice common in the time of S.; and he cites 
the old play of Nobody and Somebody, 1606 : — 

" Let him be straight imprinted to the life ; 
His picture shall be set on euery stall, 



2i6 Notes [Act ii 

And proclamation made, that he that takes him, 
Shall haue a hundred pounds of Somebody." 

86. Natural. Here used in the double sense of illegitimate and 
as opposed to unnatural, which Gloster implies that Edgar is. 

87. Capable. Capable of inheriting ; a legal use of the word. 
99. Consort. Company, fellowship ; as in T. G. of V. iv. 1 . 64 : 

" Wilt thou be of our consort ? " The word in this sense has the 
accent on the last syllable; but when it means a company of 
musicians (as in T. G. of V. iii. 2. 84 and 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 327), 
on the first. 

101. Put him on. Prompted him to. See on i. 4. 213 above. 

102. Th? expense. The spending ; as in M. W. ii. 2. 147 : 
"after the expense of so much money ; " Sonn. 94. 6: "And hus- 
band nature's riches from expense," etc. For the accent of reve- 
nue, see on i. I. 132 above. 

109. Bewray. Disclose, betray. Cf. iii. 6. 1 1 1 below ; and see 
also R. of L. 1698, Cor. v. 3. 95, etc. For practice, cf. 75 above. 

113. Of doing. With regard to doing. 

1 14. In my strength. With my authority. 

115. Doth. The singular verb is often used after two singular 
nominatives. 

117. Trust. Trustworthiness; as in Oth. i. 3. 285: "A man he 
is of honesty and trust," etc. 

121. Threading, etc. Cf. Cor. iii. 1. 127: "They would not 
thread the gates." 

122. Poise. Weight, moment. Cf. Oth. iii. 3. 82 : " full of poise 
and difficult weight." 

126. From our home. That is, away from our home. Cf. Macb. 

iii. 4. 36 : — 

" To feed were best at home ; 

From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony ; " 

127. Attend dispatch. Wait to be dispatched. 

129. Businesses. The folio reading; the quartos have "busi- 



Scene II] Notes 21 J 

nesse." If the singular is adopted (as it is in many eds.) it must 
be a trisyllable. The plural is found in A. W. i. I. 220, iii. 7. 5, 
iv. 3. 98, W. T. iv. 2. 15, and K. John, iv. 3. 158. 

130. Craves. Demands. The relative often takes a singular 
verb, though the antecedent be plural. 

Scene II. — 1. Dawning. Not elsewhere used by S. in such 
salutation. 

6. If thou lov'st me. " A conventional phrase before a question 
or request, which Kent here takes literally" (Delius). 

9. Lipsbury pinfold. No such place as Lipsbury is known. 
Nares suggests that it may be a coined term, referring to "the 
teeth, as being the pinfold within the lips." For pinfolds, (a 
pound), cf. T. G. of V. i. 1 114: "You mistake; I mean the 
pound, — a pinfold ; " Milton, Comus, 7 : " Confin'd and pester'd 
in this pinfold here," etc. 

16. Three-suited. Having but three suits of clothes; con- 
temptuous, and in keeping with beggarly. Steevens cites Ben 
Jonson, Silent Woman, iv. 2: "wert a pitiful poor fellow . . . 
and hadst nothing but three suits of apparel." Wright says : " It 
is probable that three suits of clothes a year were part of a servant's 
allowance. In the Silent Woman, iii. 1, Mrs. Otter, scolding her 
husband whom she treats as a dependant, says, ' Who gives you 
your maintenance, I pray you ? Who allows you your horse-meat 
and man's-meat, your three suits of apparel a year ? your four pair 
of stockings, one silk, three worsted ? ' " Hundred-pound -was also 
a term of reproach. Cf. Middleton, Phoenix, iv. 3 : " Am I used 
like a hundred-pound gentleman?" 

17. Worsted-stocking. In England in the time of Elizabeth silk 
stockings were worn by all who could afford them, and worsted 
or woolen ones were thought cheap and mean. Steevens quotes 
Beaumont and Fletcher, The Captain, iii. 3 : " serving-men . . . 
with woolen stockings." Malone adds from Middleton, Phoenix, 
iv. 2: " Metreza Auriola keeps her love with half the cost that I am 



2i 8 Notes [Act ii 

at ; her friend can go afoot, like a good husband, walk in worsted 
stockings, and inquire for the six-penny ordinary." Lily-livered ' = 
white-livered, cowardly. Cf. Macb. v. 3. 15: "Thou lily-liver'd 
boy." See on i. 4. 349 above. 

18. Action-taking = resenting an injury by a lawsuit, instead of 
fighting it out like a man. Superserviceable = over-officious ; or, 
perhaps, above his work. Cf. iv. 6. 235 below. 

19. One-trunk-inheriting. With all his belongings in a single 
trunk. Inheriting = possessing ; as often. Cf. Temp. ii. 2. 1 79, 
H. and J. i. 2. 30, etc. 

25. Addition. Title. See on i. 1. 131 above. 

27. Rail on. S. uses rail on or upon oftener than rail at. 

33. Sop <?' the moonshine. Probably an allusion to the old dish 
called " eggs in moonshine," for which Nares gives the receipt from 
a cook-book of the time. Clarke remarks that the threat is equiva- 
lent to " I '11 beat you fiat as a pancake. " 

34. Cullionly = cullion-like, base. Cf. Hen. V. iii. 2. 22 : " Up 
to the preach, you dogs ! avaunt, you cullions ! " (Fluellen's 
speech). See also 2 Hen. VI. i. 3. 43. Barber-monger = one 
who deals much with barbers ; hence a fop. Cf. A. and C. ii. 2. 
229 : " barber'd ten times o'er." 

37. Vanity the puppet 1 s part. " Alluding to the old moralities 
or allegorical plays, in which Vanity, Iniquity, and other vices were 
personified" (Johnson). 

39. Carbonado. Literally, to cut a piece of meat crosswise for 
broiling. Cf. W. T. iv. 4. 268 : " to eat adders' heads and toads 
carbonadoed." For the noun, see 1 Hen. IV. v. 3. 61. 

40. Come your ways. Come on ; used by S. oftener than come 
your way. 

43. Neat slave. " Mere slave, very slave " (Johnson) ; " finical 
rascal" (Steevens). Furness is inclined to agree with Johnson, and 
to find a parallel instance in Ben Jonson, Poetaster, iv. 1 : "By thy 
leave, my neat scoundrel." It is perhaps an objection to Johnson's 
explanation that S. nowhere else has neat = pure, unmixed. On 



Scene II] Notes 2 1 9 

the other hand, he seems to use it contemptuously = spruce, finical, 
in 1 Hen. IV. i. 3. 33 : " Came there a certain lord, neat, and trimly 
dress' d," etc. 

46. Goodman boy. Cf. R. and J. i. 5. 79: "What, goodman 
boy ! " Goodman was sometimes used contemptuously; as in M. 
for M. v. 1. 328 : " Come hither, goodman baldpate," etc. 

47. Flesh. To initiate. Cf. K. John, v. 1. 71, I Hen. IV. v. 4. 
133, etc. See also feshment in 125 below. 

51. Messengers. Oswald is the messenger from our sister, Kent 
the messenger from the king. 

55. Disclaims in. Disowns; elsewhere in S. without in. Cf. i. 
1. 106 above. For a tailor made thee, cf. Cymb. iv. 2..81 : — 

" No, nor thy tailor, rascal, 
Who is thy grandfather ; he made those clothes, 
Which, as it seems, make thee." 

63. Ancient. Aged, old; as in 128 below. 

65. Thou whoreson zed ! etc. Ben Jonson in his Eng. Gram. 
says: "Z is a letter often heard among us, but seldom seen." 
Farmer quotes Mulcaster : " Z is much harder among us, and sel- 
dom seen : — S is become its lieutenant-general. It is lightlie 
expressed in English, saving in foren enfranchisements." Baret, in 
his Alvearie, 1580, omits the letter. 

67. Unbolted. Coarse, unrefined. Toilet says : " Unbolted mor- 
tar is mortar made of unsifted lime, and to break the lumps it is 
necessary to tread it by men in wooden shoes." For bolted = re- 
fined, see Hen. V. ii. 2. 137 : " Such and so finely bolted didst thou 
seem ; " and Cor. iii. I. 322: "In bolted language." 

68. Jakes. A privy. S. uses the word only here, but it is im- 
plied in the play on. Ajax in Z. L. L. v. 2. 581. 

69. Wagtail. The bird so called ; mentioned by S. nowhere 
else. 

76. The holy cords. The natural ties between parents and chil- 



220 Notes [Act II 

dren. A-twain = in twain. Cf. L, C. 6 : " Tearing of papers, 
breaking rings a-twain." 

77. Intrinse. Intricate, or tightly drawn; used by S. only here. 
It seems to be a contracted form of intrinsicate, which occurs only 
in A. and C. v. 2. 307 : — 

" With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate 
Of life at once untie." 

Malone notes that the word was a new one at this time, and quotes 
the preface to Marston's Scourge of Villanie, 1598: "new-minted 
epithets (as reall, intrinsecate, Delphicke)." Smooth = flatter, 
humour ; as in Rich. II. i. 2. 169 : " Sweet smoothing word ; " and 
Id. i. 3. 48 : " smooth, deceive, and cog." 

78. Rebel. The plural may be explained by the proximity of 
lords, or by the plural implied in every. 

80. Renege. Deny : from the Late Latin renego, whence also we 
get renegade (through the Spanish). It occurs again in A. and 
C. i. 1. 8: "reneges all temper." The quartos spell the word 
"Reneag," which indicates the pronunciation. Nares quotes Du 
Bartas, The Battail of Ivry : — 

" All Europe nigh (all sorts of rights reneg'd) 
Against the Truth and Thee, un-holy Leagu'd." 

Halcyon. Kingfisher. Steevens quotes Lupton's Notable Things, 
b. x. : "A lytle byrde called the Kings Fysher, being hanged vp in 
the ayre by the neck, his nebbe or byll wyll be alwayes dyrect or 
strayght against ye winde ; " and Marlowe, Jew of Malta, i. I : — 

" But now how stands the wind ? 
Into what corner peers my halcyon's bill ? " 

According to Charlotte Smith's Nat. Hist, of Birds (quoted by 
Dyce), the belief in a connection between the halcyon and the 
wind still lingered among the common people of England in 1807. 

81. Vary. The only instance of the noun in S. 



Scene II] Notes 221 

83. Epileptic. "Distorted by grinning" (Dyce). Oswald is 
pale with fright, yet pretending to laugh. 

84. Smile. Smile at ; but probably a corruption. As = as if; 
as in iii. 4. 15 and v. 3. 203 below. 

85. Sarum. The ancient name of Salisbury. 

86. Cackling. i e Oswald's forced laughter suggests to Kent the 
cackling of a goose " (Furness). Camelot, famed in the Arthurian 
legends, was Cadbury in Somersetshire, according to Selden; and 
near it, Hanmer says, " there are many large moors, upon which 
great numbers of geese are bred." Malory identifies Camelot with 
Winchester; and "Winchester goose" (1 Hen. VI. i. 3. 53, T. 
and C. v. 10, 55) was a cant term for a certain sore, to which Capell 
saw a quibbling reference here. Sundry other explanations have 
been suggested. 

92. Likes. Pleases. See on i. I. 195 above. 

99. Constrains the garb, etc. " Forces his outside, or his appear- 
ance, to something totally different from his natural disposition " 
(Johnson). For the figurative use of garb, cf. Hen. V. v. 1. 80, 
Cor. iv. 7. 44, Ham. ii. 2. 390, and Oth. ii. I. 315. 

102. So. That is, be it so ; a very common use of the word. 

103. These kind of knaves. Cf. T. N. i. 5. 95: "These set kind 
of fools," etc. In Id. i. 2. 10 we find " and those poor number." 

104. More corrupter. See on i. 1. 73 above. 

105. Silly-ducking. The hyphen is in the folios. Ducking is 
contemptuous for bowing; as in Rich. III. i. 3. 49 and T. of A. 
iv. 3. 18. Observants = obsequious attendants. For observance — 
homage, cf. M. W. ii. 2. 203 and A. Y. L. v. 2. 102. So observe — 
pay homage; as in T. of A. iv. 3. 212: — 

" Hinge thy knee, 
And let his very breath whom thou 'It observe 
Blow off thy cap." 

106. Nicely. With the utmost exactness. Cf. v. 3. 146 
below. 



222 Notes [Act II 

108. Aspect. An astrological term. See on i. I. 106 and i. 2. 
126 above. Cf. Sonn. 26. 10, 1 Hen. IV. i. 1. 97, etc. The accent 
in S. is always on the last syllable. 

III. Discomrn end. Disapprove; used by S. nowhere else. 

113. Accent. Speech, language ; as in M. N. D. v. 1. 97, J. C. 
iii. 1. 113, etc. 

114. Though I should win, etc. "Though I should win you, 
displeased as you now are, to like me so well as to entreat me to 
be a knave" (Johnson). 

120. Compact. Joined with him, taking his part. Cf.M.forM. 
v. 1. 242: "Compact with her that 's gone," etc. 

121. Being down, insulted, /being down, he insulted, etc. 

122. Put upon him, etc. Assumed such a show of manhood 
that he seemed a hero and won praises from the king. 

123. That worthied him. As exalted him into a hero (Schmidt). 

124. For him attempting. For venturing to attack him. Cf. 
M. W. iv. 2. 226 : " he will never . . . attempt us again," etc. 

125. In the fieshment of. "In the first glory of " (Clarke). See 
on ii. 2. 47 above. 

127. Is their fool. Is a fool compared with them. 

132. Do respect is like do homage, do reverence, etc. Cf. i. 4. 108 
above. 

134. Stocking. Putting in the stocks ; as in ii. 4. 186 below. 

137. Till noon! etc. Clarke remarks : "Very artfully is this 
speech thrown in. Not only does it serve to paint the vindictive 
disposition of Regan, it also serves to regulate dramatic time by 
making the subsequent scene where Lear arrives before Glouces- 
ter's castle and finds his faithful messenger in the stocks appear 
sufficiently advanced in the morning to allow of that same scene 
closing with the actual approach of ' night,' without disturbing the 
sense of probability. S. makes a whole day pass before our eyes 
during a single scene and dialogue, yet all seems consistent and 
natural in the course of progression." 

139. Being. That is, you being. Cf. 121 above. 



Scene II] Notes 223 

140. Colour. "Nature" (the quarto reading); as in A. Y.I. 
iii. 2. 435, etc. 

14 1. Bring- away. Bring here, bring along ; as in M. for M. 
ii. 1. 41, T. of A. v. I. 68, etc. So come away = come here ; as in 
Temp. i. 2. 187, etc. In great houses movable stocks were kept 
for the correction of servants. 

144. Check. Rebuke; as iny. C. iv. 3. 97, etc. 

149. Answer. Cf. i. 1. 146 and i. 3. 11 above. 

150. More worse. , See on 104 above. 

156. RubVd. Hindered; a metaphor from the game of bowls. 
Cf. the noun in Rich. II. iii. 4. 4. 

159. A good man's fortune, etc. Even a good man may have 
bad luck. Possibly, as Furness suggests, Kent may jocosely mean 
"that what is usually but a metaphor is with him a reality." 

160. Give you good morrow ! God give you good morning! 
For the full form, see I. I. I. iv. 2. 84, and for the contraction, 
God ye good morrow, R. and J. ii. 4. 1 1 6. The salutation was one 
"used only by common people" (Schmidt). Good morrow was 
considered proper only before noon. 

162. Approve the common saw, etc. Prove the truth of the old 
saying, " Out of God's blessing into the warm sun." Malone cites 
Howell, English Proverbs, 1660 : "He goes out of God's blessing 
to the warm sun, viz. from good to worse." The origin of the 
proverb is uncertain. The simplest explanation, perhaps, is that it 
was applied to those who were turned out of doors and exposed to 
the weather. 

165. This under globe. Cf. T. of. A. i. I. 44: "this beneath 
world; " and Sonn. 7. 2: — 

" Lo in the orient when the gracious light 
Lifts up his burning head, each under eye 
Doth homage to his new-appearing sight." 

166. Comfortable. Comforting. See on i. 4. 313 above. 

167. Nothing almost, etc. The wretched are almost the only 



224 Notes [Act ii 

persons who can be said to see miracles. " That Cordelia should 
have thought of him, or that her letter should have reached him, 
seems to him such a miracle as only those in misery experience " 
(Delius). 

170. My obscured course. My disguise. And shall find time, 
etc. = and who (that is, Cordelia) will find opportunity in this ab- 
normal state of affairs to set things right again. The style is dis- 
jointed, partly because he is soliloquizing, partly because he can 
hardly keep his eyes open for weariness. 

171. Enormous (which has the same etymology as abnormal, 
except that norma is compounded with e instead of ah) is rightly 
explained by Johnson as = " unwonted, out of rule, out of the 
ordinary course of things." 

1 72. All weary, etc. Here he gives way to his drowsiness, bids 
his eyes take advantage of their heaviness not to see how poor a 
resting-place he has, and, with a good-night prayer for better for- 
tune, falls asleep. For o" 1 er-watched ( = worn out with watching), 
cf. J. C. iv. 3. 241 : " Poor knave, I blame thee not ; thou art 
o'er-watch'd." 

For other interpretations of portions of the passage, as well as 
for the emendations that have been proposed, the curious reader 
may consult Furness. 

Scene III. — 2. Happy. Lucky, fortunate ; as in iv. 6. 209 
below. 

3. Port. Harbour, refuge. 

5. Attend my taking. Watch to capture me. For does, see on 
ii. 1. 115 above. 

6. Am bethought. Think, intend ; the only instance of the 
form in S. He generally uses the reflexive form; as in /. C. iv. 3. 
251 : " It may be I shall otherwise bethink me ; " T. A r . iii. 4. 327 : 
" he hath better bethought him of his quarrel," etc. 

7. Most poorest. See on i. I. 73 above. 

8. In contempt of?nan. Bringing a man into contempt. 



Scene III] Notes 225 

10. Elf all my hair. Tangle my hair as elves were supposed to 
do that of sluttish persons. Cf. R. and J. i. 5. 91 : "the elf-locks 
in foul, sluttish hair." 

11. Presented. Assumed. The verb is often = represent. Cf. 
Temp. iv. 1. 167: "when I presented Ceres," etc. 

14. Bedlam beggars. Steevens quotes from Dekker's Belman 
of London, of which three editions appeared in 1608, the same 
year in which Lear was first printed, the following description of 
" an Abraham man " ; " He sweares he hath been in Bedlam, and 
will talke frantickely of purpose : you see pinnes stuck in sundry 
places of his naked flesh, especially in his armes, which paine he 
gladly puts himselfe to, only to make you believe he is out of his 
wits. He calls himselfe by the name of Poore Tom, and comming 
near any body cries out, Poore Tom is a-cold. Of these Abraham- 
men, some be exceeding merry, and doe nothing but sing songs 
fashioned out of their own braines : some will dance, others will 
doe nothing but either laugh or weepe : others are dogged, and so 
sullen both in loke and speech, that spying but a small company in 
a house, they boldly and bluntly enter, compelling the servants 
through feaie to give them what they demand." 

15. Mortified. Deadened, hardened. See the quotation from 
Dekker just above. 

16. Wooden pricks. Skewers. " The Euonymus, of which the 
best skewers are made, is called prick-zvood" (Mason). 

17. Object, Appearance, sight; as often. Cf. v. 3. 240 below. 
Low — lowly, humble. 

18. Pelting. Paltry, petty. Cf. M. N. D. ii. 1. 91 : " every 
pelting (folio, ' petty ') river/' etc. 

19. Bans. Curses; as in T. of A. iv. 1. 34: "with multiplying 
bans." Elsewhere in S. the plural refers to the marriage bans; as 
in v. 3. 88 below. 

20. Turlygod. So in all the early eds. Warburton conjectured 
"Turlupin," the name applied to a fraternity of gypsies or beggars 
in the 14th century. Douce says that this name was corrupted into 

KING LEAR — 1 5 



226 Notes [Act ii 

" Turlygood," the form adopted by many editors. Nares doubts 
whether Turlygood has any real connection with Turlupin, though, 
like that, it evidently means a kind of beggar. 

21. Edgar I nothing am. Edgar I shall no longer be. The 
adverbial use of nothing is common. 

Scene IV. — 7. Cruel. A play upon crewel, or worsted, of 
which garters were often made. The pun occurs often in the old 
dramatists. 

10. At legs. The expression is found in Dekker, Massinger, Mid- 
dleton, and other writers of the time. 

11. A T ether-stocks. Short stockings. Cf. I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 131 : 
" I '11 sew nether-stocks." For stocks — stockings, see T. N. i. 3. 
144. 

13. To set thee. As to set thee. See on i. 4. 38 above. 

24. Upon respect. Upon consideration, deliberately. Cf. K.John, 
iv. 2. 214: " More upon honour than advised respect." 

25. Resolve me. Inform me, explain to me. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 2. 
26 : "I will resolve your grace." Modest = reasonable, becoming. 
Cf. iv. 7. 5 below, where modest is exactly explained by " Nor more 
nor clipp'd, but so," that is, not too much nor too little, but just 
the measure (Latin modus). 

26. Usage. Treatment ; the only sense in which S. uses the 
word. 

27. Coming. Relating to thou. 

28. Commend. Commit, deliver; as in Macb. i. 7. 11, etc. 

33. Spite of intermission. Not waiting for me to receive my 
answer. Cf. Macb. iv. 3. 232 : " Cut short all intermission." 

34. Presently. Immediately; as often. Cf. 114 below. 

35. Meiny. Retinue, attendants. The word occurs repeatedly 
in Chaucer, and also in Spenser. Cf. F. Q. iii. 12. 23: "That all 
his many it aff raide did make," etc. See also Cotgrave, Fr. Diet. : 
" Mesnie : f. A meynie, familie, household, household companie, or 
seiuants." 



Scene IV] Notes 227 

41. Displayed so saucily. Made so impudent a display ; the 
only instance of the intransitive verb in S. 

42. Drew. That is, / drew my sword. 

52. Dolours. For the play on the word, cf. Temp. ii. I. 18 and 
M. for M. i. 2. 50. 

53. Tell. "Count, or recount; according to the sense in which 
dolours i?, understood" (Wright). 

54. Mother. Used as synonymous with Hysterica passio, or what 
we call hysteria. Ritson quotes Harsnet, Declaration, where Master 
Richard Mainy, who was persuaded by the priests that he was pos- 
sessed of the devil, deposes as follows : " The disease I spake of, 
was a spice of the Mother, where-with I had beene troubled (as is 
before mentioned) before my going into Fraunce : whether I doe 
rightly terme it the Mother or no, I know not." 

61. How chance? How chances it? Cf. C. of E. i. 2. 42: 
"How chance thou art returned so soon?" etc. 

65. To an ant, etc. See Proverbs, vi. 6-8. " If, says the Fool, 
you had been schooled by the ant, you would have known that the 
king's train, like that sagacious animal, prefer the summer of pros- 
perity to the colder season of adversity, from which no profit can be 
derived" (Malone). 

75. Sir. Cf. Temp. v. 1. 69: "a loyal sir; " T. N. iii. 4. 81 : 
" some sir of note," etc. 

82. Perdy. A corruption of par Dieu. Cf. Hen. V. ii. 1. 52, 
etc. 

85. Deny. Refuse; as often. Cf. Rich. III. v. 3. 343, etc. 

86. Fetches. Shifts, pretexts. Cf. Ham. ii. I. 38: "a fetch of 
warrant," etc. 

87. Images. Signs, tokens. The word may be metrically a dis- 
syllable. See p. 165 above. 

89. Quality. Temper, disposition; as in 134 below. 

90. Unremovable. Immovable. We find irremovable in W. T. 
iv. 4. 518, and unremovably in T. of A. v. I. 227. 

103. Office. Service, duty. Cf. 176 below. " The strong inter- 



228 Notes [Act ii 

est now felt by Lear, to try to find excuses for his daughter, is most 
pathetic" (Coleridge). 

107. More headier. See on i. I. 73. These double compara- 
tives and superlatives occur with more than usual frequency in this 
play. Heady here is " not headstrong, but headlong, impetuous" 
Cf. Hen. V.'\. 1. 34, etc. 

in. Remotion. Removal (from their own house to Gloster's 
castle). Cf. T. of A. iv. 3. 346: "All thy safety were remotion, 
and thy defence absence." 

112. Practice. Artifice. See on i. 2. 180 above. 

114. Presently. See on 34 above. 

116. Till it cry sleep to death. Till the clamour murders 
sleep. 

119. Cockney. The word here seems to mean a cook, though 
it may be only a cockney cook (the noun being understood), or 
a London cook; perhaps an allusion to some familiar story of the 
time. Tyrwhitt cites passages from Piers the Plowman and The 
Turnament of Tottenham, in which the word also appears to be = 
cook; but Whalley, Malone, and Douce explain it differently. S. 
uses it only here and in T. N. iv. I. 15, where it appears to be used 
in the modern sense. 

120. Knapped. The word meant to "strike smartly," as well as 
to break in pieces (as in Psalms, xlvi. 10, Prayer Book version : 
" knappeth the spear in sunder"). Cf. Bacon, Nat. Hist. 133: 
" Knap a pair of tongs some depth within the water, and you shall 
hear the sound of the tongs." 

122. 'Twas her brother, etc. Absurd cruelty and absurd kind- 
ness are kindred follies. 

128. Thy mother's tomb. The only reference to her in the play. 
In the old drama she is mentioned as " our (too late) deceast and 
dearest queen." 

129. Sepulchring. Cf. R. of L. 805: " May likewise be sepul- 
chred in thy shade;" and T. G. of V. iv. 2. 118 : "Or at the least, 
in hers sepulchre thine." In both passages the accent is on the 



Scene IV] Notes 229 

penult, as here. The noun has the modern accent in S. except in 
Rich. II. i. 3. 196. Milton makes the same distinction. 

131. Naught. Bad, wicked; usually spelt naught in the early 
eds. when it has this sense, but notight when = nothing. 

132. Sharp-tooth' d unkindness. Cf. i. 4. 295 above. For the 
allusion to the vulture of Prometheus, cf. 2 Hen. IV. v. 3. 145, 
1 Hen. VI. iv. 3. 47, etc. 

134. Quality. Disposition, nature. Cf. 89 above. 

135. Take patience. Cf. W. T. iii. 2. 232 : "take your patience 
to you." See also Hen. VIII. v. I. 106. 

136. You less know how, etc. One of the peculiar "double 
negatives " explained by Schmidt, p. 1420. The meaning is : 
" You are apter to depreciate her than she to scant her duty." 
Furness asks: "Is the levity ill-timed that suggests that perhaps 
Regan's speech puzzles poor old Lear himself quite as much as his 
commentators, and he has to ask her to explain : ' Say, how is 
that ? ' " 

143. O, sir, you are old, etc. Coleridge remarks: "Nothing 
is so heart-cutting as a cold, unexpected defence or palliation of a 
cruelty passionately complained of, or so expressive of thorough 
hard-heartedness. And feel the excessive horror of Regan's 'O, 
sir, you are old ! ' — and then her drawing from that universal 
object of reverence and indulgence the very reason for her fright- 
ful conclusion — ' Say you have wrong'd her.' All Lear's faults 
increase our pity for him. We refuse to know them otherwise 
than as means of his sufferings and aggravations of his daughters' 
ingratitude." 

145. Confine. S. accents the noun on either syllable. 

148. Make return. Return, go back; as in T. G. of V. ii. 7. 14, 
M. for M. iv. 3. 107, T. N. i. 4. 22, etc. S. does not use the phrase 
in the modern sense ( = make requital). . 

150. The house. "The order of families, duties of relation" 
(Warburton). Steevens cites Chapman, Blind Beggar of Alexan- 
dria, 1598: "Come up to supper; it will become the house 



230 Notes [Act 11 

wonderful well." Schmidt compares the horror of Coriolanus 
(Cor. v. 3. 56) when his mother kneels to him. 

152. Age is unnecessary. An ironical apology for his useless 
existence. 

154. Unsightly tricks. This refers to Lear's kneeling. Ac- 
cording to Davies (quoted by Furness), "Garrick threw himself 
on both knees, with his hands clasped, and in a supplicating tone 
repeated this touching, though ironical, petition." 

156. Abated. Deprived. The construction is not found else- 
where in S. 

157. Strook. The early eds. have " strooke " or " stroke," as in 
many other passages; oftener than "struck," which modern edi- 
tors generally print here. For the participle the early eds. have 
struck, strook or strooke, stroke, strooken, stroken, strucken (see i. 
4. 82 above), and stricken. 

160. Ingrateful top. Ungrateful head. S. uses ingrateful 
much oftener than ungrateful. See on 90 above. For top, cf. 

A. W. i. 2. 43 : " and bowed his eminent top to their low ranks," 
etc. Her young bones = her unborn infant. Cf. the old play of 
King Leir : — 

" Alas, not I : poore soule, she breeds yong bones, 
And that is it makes her so tutchy sure." 

161. Taking. Malignant, bewitching ; as in iii. 4. 60 below. 
Cf. also Ham. i. I. 163: "No fairy takes, nor witch hath power 
to harm." 

165. Fall. Malone made the verb transitive ( = cause to fall, 
humble), as it often is ; but I have no doubt that it is intransitive. 
As Wright remarks, this is more in keeping with drawn and blast. 
It is also the sense in which S. uses it in similar passages ; as in 
Temp. ii. 2. 2 (a strikingly parallel imprecation) : — 

" All the infections that the sun sucks up 
From fogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall, and make him 
By inch-meal a disease ! " 



Scene IV] Notes 23 1 

See also M. N. D. ii. 1. 90, A. W. i. 1. 79, Macb. iv. 1. 105, iv. 3. 
227, etc. 

169. Tender-hefted. The folio reading; the quartos having 
"tender hested." Neither is easily explained. As hefts = heavings 
in W. T. ii. I. 45, Steevens thought tender-hefted might mean 
"whose bosom is agitated with tender passions." The only other 
sense of heft (not found in S.) is haft or handle; whence some 
make the compound = " held by tenderness," " tender, gentle, to 
touch or to approach," " set in a tender handle or delicate bodily 
frame," etc. On the other hand, hest = command, and tender-hested, 
it is said, may be = " governed by gentle dispositions." All these 
interpretations are unsatisfactory. There is probably some cor- 
ruption in the passage, but tender-hearted, the only emendation 
that has been proposed, is "tolerable and not to be endured." 
S. could never have written " tender-hearted nature." 

171. Do comfort and not burn. Malone compares T. of A. v. I. 
134: "Thou sun, that comfort'st, burn! " 

1 73. Sizes. Allowances. Wright says : " The words sizar and 
sizing are still well known in Cambridge ; the former originally 
denoting a poor student, so called from the sizes or allowances 
made to him by the college to which he belonged." For bandy see 
on i. 4. 87 above. 

181. Approves. Confirms ; as in i. 1. 179 and ii. 2. 162 above. 

183. Easy-borrowed. "Borrowed without the trouble of doing 
anything to justify it " (Moberly). 

186. Stocked. See on ii. 2. 134 above. 

189. Allow. Approve of ; as in the Prayer Book version of 
Psalms, xi. 6: "The Lord alloweth the righteous" (Upton). 

198. Less advancement. "A still worse, or more disgraceful sit- 
uation" (Percy). It appears to be, as Schmidt terms it, "an un- 
disguised sneer." 

207. To wage. That is, to wage combat, to contend; not else- 
where used by S. in this sense without an object. 

209. Necessity's sharp pinch ! This is explained as in apposition 



232 Notes [Act 11 

with what precedes, and perhaps correctly. It may, however, be 
an exclamation that has no syntactical connection with what pre- 
cedes. It may mean, Is this the pinch to which Necessity brings 
me ? Or it is barely possible that it is a sarcastic reference to the 
excuse which Regan has given for not receiving him — that she is 
away from home, and has not the means of entertaining him. 
Schmidt points it as an anacoluthon, "Necessity's sharp pinch — ," 
leaving us to guess at what Lear would have said, but for the sud- 
den turn in the tide of his passion. On the wolf and owl, cf. R. 
of L. 165 : — 

" No comfortable star did lend his light ; 
No noise but owls' and wolves' death-boding cries." 

212. Knee. Kneel before. The verb occurs again in Cor. v. 

1.5: — 

" A mile before his tent fall down, and knee 

The way into his mercy." 

214. Sumpter. A pack-horse. S. uses the word only here. 

221. Boil. Spelt "Bile" or "Byle" in the early eds., as in 
other printing of the time ; doubtless indicating the pronunciation. 

222. Embossed. Tumid ; as in A. Y. L. ii. 7. 67 : " And all the 
embossed sores and headed evils," etc. The emboss in A. W. iii. 
6. 107, as Furnivall has shown, is of different origin (Old Fr. em- 
boser = emboiter) . This is Cotgrave's " Emboister : To imbox, in- 
close, insert, fasten, put, or shut vp, as within a box." 

226. High-judging Jove. Cf. Milton's "all-judging Jove" (Lyci- 
das, 82). 

237. Sith. See on i. 1. 175 above. Charge — expense ; as in 
K.John, i. 1. 49: "this expedition's charge," etc. 

240. Hold amity. Keep friendship. Cf. " hold friendship " in 
L. L. L. ii. 1. 141. " Hold antipathy " occurs in ii. 2. 89 above. 

243. Slack ye. Neglect you. Cf. i. 3. 10 above. 

247. Notice. Attention, recognition. Cf. Cymb. ii. 3. 45, 65, 
etc. 



Scene IV] Notes 233 

249. My guardians. The guardians under me of my realms. 
251. With. By. Cf. 303 below. 

254. Well- favoured. Well in favour, or features. Cf. Much 
Ado, iii. 3. 15, T. N. 1. 5. 169, etc. 

255. Not being the worst, etc. Steevens compares Cymb. v. 5. 

215: — 

" It is I 
That all the abhorred things o' the earth amend 
By being worse than they." 

259. What need, etc. How need, or why need, etc. Cf. J. C. ii. 

1. 123 : " What need we any spur but our own cause ? " 

262. O, reason not, etc. "Observe that the tranquillity which 
follows the first stunning of the blow permits Lear to reason " 
(Coleridge). 

263. Are in the poorest, etc. Have in their poverty something 
that may be called superfluous. 

268. Need — . " To imagine how Shakespeare would have 
ended this sentence, one must be a Shakespeare. The poor king, 
stops short in his definition ; it is too plain that his true need is 
patience" (Moberly). # 

269. Patience, patience I need ! Perhaps, as Malone conjec- 
tured, the repetition of patience was a slip of the printer. If so, 
patience would be a trisyllable. Abbott would put you heavens in a 
separate line, making the first patience a dissyllable, the second a 
trisyllable. 

272. Stirs. See on i. 1. 234 and ii. 1. 115 above. 
274. To bear. As to bear. See on i. 4. 38 above. 

283. Flaws. " A flaw signifies a crack, but is here used for a 
small broken particle " (Malone). 

284. Or ere. A reduplication, or being = before. Cf. Te?7ip. i. 

2. 1 1, v. i. 103, etc. 

287. Bestowed. Lodged; as often. Cf. iv. 6. 269 below. 

288. Hath. For the omission of the subject, see on ii. 4. 42 
above. Cf. 299 below. 



234 Notes [Act in 

290. For his particular. As to him personally, so far as he him- 
self is concerned. Cf. Cor. iv. 7. 13: — 

"Yet I wish, sir — 
I mean for your particular — you had not 
Join'd in commission with him ; " 

299. Ruffle. Bluster. The word is used figuratively ( = be tur- 
bulent) in T. A. i. 313 : "To ruffle in the commonwealth of Rome." 

303. With. See on 251 above. 

304. Incense. Instigate, provoke; as iny. C. i. 3. 13, etc. 

305. His ear abused. Cf. A. W. v. 3. 295 : " She does abuse 
our ears." 



ACT III 



Scene I. — 6. The main. The mainland. Elsewhere in S. it 
means the sea. Cf. Sonn. 64. 7: " the watery main; " K. John,\\. 
1. 26 : " England, hedg'd in with the main," etc. 

On curled waters, cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 1. 23 : — 

" Who take the ruffian billows by the top, 
Curling their monstrous heads," etc. 

8. Eyeless. Blind, undiscerning. Cf. the literal use in iii. 7. 96 
below. 

9. Make nothing of. Treat with contempt (as we still use the 
expression), not "annihilate," as some explain it. 

10. His little world of man. Probably an allusion to the ancient 
notion of man as the microcosm, or little world, containing in min- 
iature the elements of the macrocosm, or the universe. Cf. Rich. II. 
v. 5. 9 : "And these same thoughts people this little world." See 
also L. C. 7. 

12. Cub-drawn. Sucked dry by her cubs, and made hungry by 



Scene I] Notes 235 

it. Cf. A. Y. L. iv. 3. 1 15 : "A lioness, with udders all drawn dry;" 
and Id. iv. 3. 127 : "the suck'd and hungry lioness." 

14. Unbonneted. Cf. Oth. i. 2. 23 ; and for bonnet = cap, see 
Rich. II. i. 4. 31, etc. 

15. Take all. Cf. M. W. i. 3. 84: "then Lucifer take all!" 
2 Hen. VI. iii. 1. 307 : " nay, then, a shame take all ! " etc. 

17. Heart-strook. See on ii. 4. 157 above. 

18. Note. Observation, or knowledge. Cf. ii. I. 85 above. 

23. Who seem no less. Who seem nothing else than servants, 
and not the spies that they really are. 

24. Speculations. Close observers. Schmidt, in his lexicon 
(p. 1421), gives more than sixty instances in S. of this use of the 
abstract for the concrete; and Furness adds discretion in ii. 4. 146 
below. 

25. Intelligent. Giving information. Cf. iii. 5. 12 and iii. 7. 12 
below. What hath been seen, etc. ; that is, to note and report, etc. 

26. Snuffs. Huffs, offence-taking. Cf. "taking it in snuff" 
(Z. L. L. v. 2. 22) and the play upon the expression in 1 Hen. IV. 
i. 3. 41. Packings = plottings. Cf. T. of S. v. 1. 121 : "Here's 
packing, with a witness, to deceive us all ! " 

29. Furnishings. "Colours, external pretences " (Johnson). 

30. Power. Army; as often, both in the singular and the plural, 
Cf. iii. 3. 13, iv. 2. 17, iv. 3. 50, iv. 4. 21, etc., below. 

31. Scattered. "Divided, unsettled, disunited " (Johnson) ; not 
elsewhere used in this sense by S. 

32. Feet. Footing, landing. 

33. At point. See on i. 4. 332 above. 

34. To show their open banner. To begin active hostilities. 

36. To make. As to make. See on i. 4. 38 and ii. 4. 13 above. 

39. Plain. Complain. Cf. Rich II. i. 3. 75, etc. 

43. I will talk further with you. This implies a courteous post- 
ponement or dismissal of a request ; hence Kent's reply (Delius). 

45. Out-wall. Exterior. Cf. wall in T. N. i. 2. 48, and K. 
John, iii. 3. 20. 



236 Notes [Act in 

48. That. S. generally uses the possessive pronoun with fellow — 
companion. 

52. To effect. As to effect, in importance. 

53. Pain. Labour, effort {will be or lies being understood). S. 
uses both pain and pains in this sense ; now we use only the 
latter. 

Scene II. — 2. Hurricanoes. Water spouts. Cf. T. and C. v. 

2. 172 : — 

" the dreadful spout 
Which shipmen do the hurricano call." 

Nares quotes Drayton, Mooncalf, 168: — 

" And downe the shower impetuously doth fall, 
Like that which men the Hurricano call." 

3. Cocks. That is, the weathercocks. 

4. Thought-executing. Doing execution with the rapidity of 
thought. 

5. Vaunt-couriers. Forerunners, precursors; originally "the 
foremost scouts of an army." Cf. Temp. i. 2. 201 : — 

" Jove's lightnings, the precursors 
O' the dreadful thunder-claps." 

8. Germens. Seeds; as in Macb. iv. 1. 59. Cf. W. T. iv. 4. 489 : — 

" Let nature crush the sides o' the earth together, 
And mar the seeds within." 

Spill = destroy: Cf. Ham. iv. 5. 20: "It spills itself," etc. See 
also Spenser, F. Q. iii. 7. 54 : Badd her commaund my life to save 
or spill ; " and Id. v. 10. 2: "As it is greater prayse to save then 
spill," etc. 

10. Court holy-water. " Ray, among his proverbial phrases, men- 
tions court holy-water to mean fair words. The French have the 
same phrase: Eau benite de cour" (Steevens). Cotgrave, Fr. 



Scene II] Notes 237 

Diet., has " Eau beniste de Cour. Court holy water ; complements, 
faire words, flattering speeches," etc. 

13. Pities. For the ellipsis of the relative, cf. i. 4. 62 above. 

15. Fire. A dissyllable ; as in Rich. II. i. 3. 294, ii. 1. 34, v. 1. 
48, etc. 

18. Subscription. Submission, obedience ; the only instance of 
the noun in S. Cf. the use of the verb in i. 2. 19 above and iii. 7. 
65 below. 

23. High-engender 'd. High — in the heavens; as in high-judging, 
ii. 4. 226 above. Battles = battalions ; as in J. C. v. i. 4. etc. 

27. That makes his toe, etc. Makes that his last object which 
should be his first (Capell). Furness paraphrases the quatrain thus : 
" A man who prefers or cherishes a mean member in place of a vital 
one shall suffer enduring pain where others would suffer merely a 
twinge. Lear had preferred Regan and Goneril to Cordelia." 

31. For there was never yet, etc. "This is the Fool's way of 
diverting attention after he has said something a little too pointed; 
the idea of a very pretty woman making faces in a looking-glass 
raises a smile" (Furness). For made mouths, cf. Ham. ii. 2. 381, 
iv. 4. 50, etc. 

39. Gallow. Affright ; the only instance of the word in S. 
According to Nares, the word in the corrupt form of gaily is still 
used in the West of England. 

43. Carry. Bear, sustain. Cf. R. and J. iv. 5. 120 : "I will 
carry no crotchets." 

44. Affliction. Used for "any painful sensation" (Schmidt). 

45. Pudder. The folio spelling, followed by Furness and some 
other editors ; but the majority read "pother," as Furness notes. 
Charles Lamb preferred pudder, and uses it in his remarks on this 
play. Cf. Cor. ii. 1. 234, where the old eds. have " poother." 

49. Simular. Simulator; the only instance of the noun in S. 
The adjective occurs in Cymb. v. 5. 200: "with simular proof 
enough" (that is, pretended, counterfeited). 

52. Has. One of many examples of the verb in the third person 



238 Notes [Act in 

with a relative whose antecedent is of the first or second person. 
Practised on = plotted against. Cf. the noun in i. 2. 180 above. 

53. Continents. That which contains or encloses ; the original 
sense of the word, and the usual one in S. Cf. Ham. iv. 4. 64, etc. 
Concealing continents — l * shrouds of secrecy " (Herford) . Cry 
grace = cry for grace or pardon. Cf. cry you mercy (M. W. iii. 5. 
27) and cry you pardon {Oth. v. 1. 93). 

54. Summoners. The officers that summon offenders before a 
tribunal. 

56. Gracious my lord. Cf. iii. 4. I below. 

59. More harder. See on i. I. 73 above. 

60. Demanding. Inquiring, asking. Cf. v. 3. 63 below. 
62-68. My wits begin to turn, etc. Dr. Bucknill remarks : "The 

import of this must be weighed with iv. 6. 100-104, when Lear is 
incoherent and full of delusion. Insanity arising from mental and 
moral causes often continues in a certain state of imperfect devel- 
opment; ... a state of exaggerated and perverted emotion, ac- 
companied by violent and irregular conduct, but unconnected with 
intellectual aberration, until some physical shock is incurred, — 
bodily illness, or accident, or exposure to physical suffering; and 
then the imperfect type of mental disease is converted into perfect 
lunacy, characterized by more or less profound affection of the 
intellect, by delusion or incoherence. This is evidently the case in 
Lear, and although we have never seen the point referred to by any 
writer, and have again and again read the play without perceiving 
it, we cannot doubt from these passages, and especially from the 
second, in which the poor madman's imperfect memory refers to 
his suffering in the storm, that S. contemplated this exposure and 
physical suffering as the cause of the first crisis in the malady. Our 
wonder at his profound knowledge of mental disease increases, the 
more carefully we study his works ; here and elsewhere he displays 
with prolific carelessness a knowledge of principles, half of which 
would make the reputation of a modern psychologist." 

65. The art. " The alchemy or transforming power " (Moberly). 



Scene IV] Notes 239 

69. He that has and, etc. Cf. T. A 7 ", v. I. 398 fol. "This may 
have been the same song, but changed by the Fool to suit the 
occasion" (Furness). 

74. I'll speak a prophecy, etc. The whole of this speech is 
probably an interpolation. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 42 : " And let those 
that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them," 
etc. The prophecy is an imitation of one formerly ascribed to 
Chaucer, but now regarded as spurious. 

87. Merlin. Cf. I Hen. IV. iii. 1. 150: "the dreamer Merlin 
and his prophecies." 

Scene III. — 5. Neither . . . or. For the use with more than 
two particulars, cf. M.for M. iv. 2. 108: "neither in time, matter, 
or other circumstance," etc. 

13. Ho?ne. Fully. See on ii. 1. 53 above, and cf. iii. 4. 16 below. 

14. Footed. On foot ; or perhaps = " landed," which is the 
quarto reading. Cf. iii. 7. 45 below. look = look for, " seek " 
(the quarto reading). Cf. A. Y. I. ii. 5. 34: "He hath been all 
this day to look you." 

20. Toward. At hand. • See on ii. I. II above. 

21. Forbid thee. Forbidden thee; the usual form of the partici- 
ple in S. Cf. v. 1. 47 below. 

Scene IV. — 6. Think' 'si 'tis much. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 252 : 
" Thou dost, and think'st it much to tread the ooze," etc. 
7. Invades. See on i. 1. 139 above. 

15. As. As if. Cf. v. 3. 203 below. 

16. Home. See on ii. 1. 53 and iii. 3. 13 above. 

26. Poverty. The abstract for the concrete. See on iii. I. 24 
above. 

31. loop'd. Full of holes. For loop = hole, see I Hen. IV. iv. 
1. 71 : " all sight-holes, every loop," etc. 

35. Super/lux. Superfluity; which is the word S. uses else- 
where. 



240 Notes [Act in 

37. Fathom and half, etc. Probably Steevens is right in sup- 
posing that Edgar talks as if taking soundings at sea. 

54. Knives under his pillow, etc. That is, to tempt him to sui- 
cide. Steevens quotes Dr. Faustus, 1604: — 

" Swords, poisons, halters, and envenom'd steel, 
Are laid before me to dispatch myself." 

57. Four-inched bridges. The old bridges of a single beam 01 
plank across small streams, intended for pedestrians but sometimes 
used by horsemen. 

58. Thy five wits. Cf. T. N. iv. 2. 92 : " Alas, sir, how fell you 
besides your five wits? " 

59. Do de, do de, do de is " perhaps intended to express the teeth- 
chattering sound emitted by one who shivers with cold" (Clarke). 

60. Star-blasting. Cf. Ham. i. 1. 162 : " then no planets strike," 
etc. For taking, see on ii. 4. 161 above. 

62. Now, and there, etc. " He catches at the fiend, as he would 
at flies" (Moberly). 

68. Pendulous. Impending, overhanging. Cf. T. of A. iv. 3. 
108: — 

" Be as a planetary plague when Jove 
Will o'er some high-vic'd city hang his poison 
In the sick air." 

Schmidt quotes The Birth of Merlin (which has been attributed 
to S.), iv. I: "Knowest thou what pendulous mischief roofs thy 
head?" 

72. Lowness = abject condition. In A. and C. ii. 7. 22 it is used 
literally (= small elevation), and in Id. hi. II. 63 it is = meanness. 
Unkind is accented on the first syllable, as usual before a noun. 
See on i. I. 254 above. 

74. Should have, etc. This probably refers to the sticking of 
pins into the arms. In Edwin Booth's Prompt-book there is a 
stage -direction: "Draws a thorn, or wooden spike, from Edgar's 



Scene IV] Notes 241 

arm, and tries to thrust it into his own; " and after line 76 : " Edgar 
seizes Lear's hand and takes away the thorn" (Furness). 

75. Judicious. Wise, or just. 

76. Pelican. Alluding to the fable that the young of the peli- 
can were fed with blood from its own breast. Cf. Rich. II. ii. 1. 
126 and Ham. iv. 5. 146. 

77. Pillicock. Suggested by pelican. In Ritson's Gammer 
Gurtorts Garland we find the nursery rhyme : — 

" Pillycock, Pillycock sat on a hill ; 
If he's not gone, he sits there still." 

The word was often used as a term of endearment. Dyce quotes 
Florio : " Pinchino, a prime-cocke, a pillicocke, a darlin, a beloued 
lad." 

78. Loo, loo ! Craig says that this is " a cry to excite dogs " 
which he has heard in Cardigan. Cf. T. and C. v. 7. 10: "Now, 
bull ! now, dog ! Loo, Paris, loo ! " Schmidt explains it in the 
same way. 

,82. Commit. The word seems to have been applied particularly 
to incontinence (Malone). Schmidt compares Oth. iv. 2. 72 fol. 

87. Curled my hair. Curling the hair seems to have been the 
mark of a swaggerer, for in Harsnet's Declaration we are told that 
the devil was said to appear " sometimes like a Ruffian, with curled 
haire." Cf. T. of A. iv. 3. 160 : "Make curl'd-pate ruffians bald." 
Gloves in my cap ; that is, as the favour of a mistress. Cf. Rich. 
II. v. 3. 17: — 

" And from the common'st creature pluck a glove, 
And wear it as a favour." 

See also T. and C. iv. 4. 73, v. 2. 79, etc. 

92. Light of ear. " Foolishly credulous" (Schmidt). 

93. Hog in sloth, etc. In the Ancren Riwle, the seven deadly 
sins are typified by seven wild animals; the lion being the type of 
pride, the serpent of envy, the unicorn of wrath, the bear of sloth, 

KING LEAR — 1 6 



242 Notes [Act in 

the fox of covetousness, the swine of greediness, and the scorpion 
of lust. 

99. Suum, mun, nonny. The nonsensical burden of a song. 
Cf. Ham. iv. 5. 165 and Much Ado, ii. 3. 76. Dolphin my boy 
is probably a quotation from a song. Farmer quotes Ben Jonson, 
Bartholomew Fair, v. 3 : " he shall be Dauphin my boy." 

100. For sessa (a word of doubtful origin and meaning) cf. T. 
of S. ind. 1. 6 : "let the world slide; sessa ! " 

101. Thou wert better. See on i. 4. 102 above. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. 
i. 2. 245 : " I were better to be eaten to death with a rust," 
etc. 

105. The cat. That is, the civet cat. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 70. 

106. Sophisticated. Adulterated, not genuine ; as now often 
used. The word is used by S. only here. 

107. Unaccommodated. Unsupplied with conveniences ; the only 
instance of the word in S. Cf. accommodated in 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 
72 : "a soldier is better accommodated than with a wife ; " and see 
also iv. 6. 81 below. 

108. Off, off, etc. "The latent madness against which Lear has 
been struggling bursts into violence at sight of the strange and 
awful object which Edgar has made of himself, and he longs to 
reduce himself, like him, to a state of absolute and unmitigated 
nature" (Moberly). 

109. Unbutton here. Furness remarks : " It has been suggested 
to me by an eminent novelist and dramatist in London that these 
words are properly a stage-direction." 

in. Naughty. Bad; used in a much stronger sense than now. 
Cf. iii. 7. 37 below. See also on ii. 4. 131 above. 

112. Wide. The early eds. and most modern ones have "wild." 
Jennens suggested the change, on the ground that wide is better 
opposed to little ; and Walker, who says that " zvildis in the man- 
ner of modern, not Elizabethan poetry," gives other instances from 
S. and contemporaneous writers of the same misprint of wild for 
wide. 



Scene IV] Notes 243 

114. A zvalking fire. That is, Gloster with his torch approach- 
ing in the distance. 

115. Flibbertigibbet. This name, like that of the other demons 
here, is from Harsnet, who says : " Frateretto, Fleberdigibet, Hober- 
didance, Tocobatto, were four deuils of the round, or Morrice, whom 
Sara in her fits, tuned together, in measure and sweet cadence." 
It had come to be used figuratively even in that day, for Cotgrave 
gives it as one of the definitions of Coquette : " a fisking, or fliperous 
minx, a cocket or tatling housewife; a titifill, a flebergebit." 

116. Walks. Often = go away. Cf. Cymb. i. I. 176: "Pray, 
walk awhile." See also M. for M. iv. 5. 12, W. T. i. 2. 172, Oth. 
iv. 3. 4, and iv. 7. 83 below. 

117. The web and the pin. An old name for cataract in the eye. 
Cf. W. T. i. 2. 291 : " Blind with the pin and web." 

120. Saint Withold. The folios have "Swithold." The name 
is a corruption of St. Vitalis. Old (the reading of the early eds.) 
= " wold," which is another form of the word. 

121. Her nine-fold. That is, her nine imps, or familiars 
(Capell) . 

124. Aroint thee. Evidently implying aversion, and = " Away 
with thee ! " but of doubtful origin. Cf. Macb. i. 3. 6. 

126. What 's he? Who 's he? Cf. v. 3. 120, 126, 166 below. 

130. Tadpole. The old eds. have "tod pole," "Tod-pole," 
"Tod-pool," or "toade pold; " but the modern spelling was then 
in use. Cotgrave has "Gyrine: the frog tearmed, a Tadpole." 
The zvall-newt and the water = the lizard common on stone walls 
in Europe and the water-newt. For the ellipsis in water, cf. M. for 
M. iii. 2. 9 : " furred with fox and lamb-skins." 

132. Sallets. Salads. Cf. 2 Hen. VI. iv. 10. 9. It is used figu- 
ratively in Ham. ii. 2. 462. 

133. Ditch-dog = a dead dog thrown into a ditch. For mantle, 
cf. Temp. iv. I. 182: " Filthy-mantled pool." 

134. Whipped from tithing to tithing. A tithing is the same in 
the country as a ward in the city. A statute of the time of Eliza- 



244 Notes [Act in 

beth enacted that vagabonds or "tramps" should be publicly 
whipped and sent from parish to parish. 

135. Hath. The quartos read "hath had." Schmidt remarks : 
" Hath had probably accords with the fact, but what have facts to 
do with madness ? Tom hath three suits and six shirts ; — where 
are they ? who has taken them from him ? " 

138, 139. Capell cites the old romance of Sir Bevis of North- 
ampton (referred to in Hen. VIII. i. 1. 38) : — 

" Rattes and myce and suche smal dere 
Was his meate that seuen yere." 

Deer was sometimes used in the general sense of game. Malone 
quotes Barclay, Eclogues, 1570: — 

" Everie sorte of dere 
Shrunk under shadowes abating all their chere." 

140. Smulkin. Another name from Harsnet's category of 
devils, like Modo and Mahu just below. 

143. The prince of darkness, etc. Cf. Sir John Suckling (who 
may be quoting from Tear) , Goblins, ii. 1 : — 

" The prince of darkness is a gentleman, 
Mahu, Mahu is his name." 

145. Our flesh and blood, etc. Clarke remarks : " One of Shake- 
speare's subtle touches. Some tone or inflection in Edgar's voice 
has reached the father's heart, and bitterly recalls the supposed un- 
filial conduct of his elder son, and he links it with that of Lear's 
daughters. Edgar, instinctively feeling this, perseveres with his 
Bedlam cry, to drown the betrayed sound of his own voice, and 
maintain the impression of his assumed character." 

149. To obey. That is, by my obeying. Obey in all, etc. is = 
obey your daughters in all their hard commands. 

153. Is. Cf. ii. 1. 115 above. 

159. Prevent. Avoid ; perhaps with something of its original 
sense of anticipating. To kill vermin, as Clarke remarks, is " an 



Scene IV] Notes 245 

instance of Shakespeare's dexterous mode of indicating points 
that would be treated by other writers of his time with revolting 
coarseness." 

161. Importune. Accented regularly by S. on the penult. 

168. Late. Lately; as in i. 4. 195 above. 

171. I do beseech your grace, — . " Here Gloster attempts to lead 
Lear towards the shelter he has provided in the farm-house adjoin- 
ing the castle ; but the king will not hear of quitting his ' philoso- 
pher.' Gloster then induces the Bedlam-fellow to go into the hovel, 
that he may be out of Lear's sight ; but Lear proposes to follow 
him thither, saying, ' Let 's in all.' Kent endeavours to draw Lear 
away, but, finding him resolved to ' keep still with ' his ' philoso- 
pher,' begs Gloster to humour the king, and ' let him take the fel- 
low ' with him. Gloster accedes, and bids Kent himself take the 
fellow with them in the direction they desire to go ; and this is 
done. We point out these details, because, if it be not specially 
observed, the distinction between the ' hovel ' and the ' farm-house ' 
would hardly be understood. The mention of ' cushions ' and a 
'joint-stool ' in scene vi. shows it to be some place of better accom- 
modation than the 'hovel; ' and probably some cottage or farm- 
house belonging to one of Gloster's tenants" (Clarke). For cry 
you mercy, see on iii. 2. 53 above. 

177. Soothe. Humour. Cf. C. of E. iv. 4. 82: "Is't good to 
soothe him in these contraries?" The word in S. always means 
either to humour or to flatter. 

182. Child Rowland. The use of Child as the title of a young 
knight is familiar to every reader of the old English ballads and of 
Spenser. Byron has adopted it in Childe Harold. The ballad 
quoted here has never been discovered. Fragments of a Scottish 
version of the story are given by Jamieson in his Ilhistrations of 
Northern Antiquities, and in Professor Child's English and Scot- 
tish Ballads. Browning's poem suggested by the passage is well 
known. 

183. His word. That of the giant in the old story. 



246 



Notes [Act in 



Scene V. — 3. Censured. Judged, estimated ; as often. Cf. 
J. C. iii. 2. 16: "Censure me in your wisdom," etc. Nature = 
natural affection. He refers to his giving information against his 
father. See iii. 3. 21 above. 

4. Fears me. Makes me fear, frightens me. Cf. T. of S. i. 2. 
211 : " Fear boys with bugs," etc. 

8. A provoking merit. " A merit he felt in himself which irri- 
tated him against a father that had none" (Mason). Some take 
provoking merit to refer to Gloster, not to Edgar. 

11. To be just. Of being just. See on iii. 4. 149 above. 

12. Approves = proves. See on ii. 4. 181 above. An intelligent 
party to, etc. = a party intelligent to (or knowing to), etc. Cf. iv. 
1. 3 below. 

21. Comforting. "Giving aid and comfort to; " as the legal 
phrase still is. 

23. Persever. The spelling of the first three folios, indicating 
the old pronunciation of the word, the only one in S. 

24. Blood. Equivalent to nature in 4 above, and opposed like 
that to loyalty, 

Scene VI. — 4. Have. The reading of all the early eds., changed 
in most modern ones to " hath " or " has." It is one of the in- 
stances of " confusion of proximity " so common in S. 

6. Frateretto. See on iii. 4. 115 above. 

7. Innocent. He is addressing the Fool. Cf. A. W. iv. 3. 213: 
" a dumb innocent that could not say him nay." 

10. A yeoman. A freeholder, but not a gentleman. Cf. I Hen. 
VI. ii. 4. 81, 85, 95, and I Hen. IV. iv. 2. 16. 

19. A horse's health. "A horse is above all other animals sub- 
ject to disease" (Johnson). Cf. T. of S. i. 2. 81 : "though she 
have as many diseases as two and fifty horses." 

21. Justicer. Cf. 56 below, and Cymb. v. 5. 214: "Some up- 
right justicer." Boswell quotes Lambard's Eirenarcha : " And of 
this it commeth that M. Fitzherbert (in his treatise of the Justices 



Scene vi] Notes 247 

of Peace) calleth them justicers (contractly for justiciars) and not 
justices, as we commonly, and not altogether improperly, doe name 
them." 

22. Sapient. Used by S. nowhere else. 

24. Wantest thou eyes, etc. " Do you want eyes to gaze at and 
admire you during trial, madam ? The fiends are there to serve 
your purpose" (Clarke). 

25. Come o'er, etc. Cf. Chappell, Popular Music of the Olden 
Time: "The allusion is to an English ballad by William Birch 
[1558], entitled, 'A songe betwene the Quenes Majestie and 
Englande,' a copy of which is in the library of the Society of 
Antiquaries. England commences the dialogue, inviting Queen 
Elizabeth in the following words : — 

' Come over the born, Bessy, come over the born, Bessy, 
Swete Bessy, come over to me.' " 

Halliwell-Phillipps gives the music of the song from a MS. of the 
1 6th century in the British Museum. 

30. Hoppedance. See on hi. 4. 115 above. 

31. White herring. According to some authorities, this means 
fresh herring; but in the North of England pickled herring are so 
called. On Croak not, etc., Malone quotes Harsnet : " One time 
shee remembereth, that shee having the said croaking in her 
belly, they said it was the devil that was about the bed, that 
spake with the voice of a toad." 

38. Bench. Used again in W. T. i. 2. 314, where it is = raise 
to authority. Of the commission ; that is, a justice of the peace. 
Cf. 2 Hen IV. hi. 2. 97: "my cousin Silence, in commission with 
me." 

41. Sleepest, etc. Steevens quotes an old play, The Interlude of 
the Four Elements : " Sleepyst thou, wakyst thou, Geffery Coke? " 

43. Minikin. Small and pretty ; used'by S. only here. 

45. Pur. This may be only an imitation of a cat. Purre is, 
however, one of Harsnet's devils. 



248 Notes [Act in 

52. Cry you mercy, etc. A proverbial expression, found in 
Ray's Proverbs. Steevens quotes Lyly, Mother Bombie, 1594: "I 
crie you mercy, I tooke you for a joynt stoole." For cry you mercy, 
cf. iii. 4. 171 above. 

54. Store. If this is what S. wrote, it must be = substance or 
material. 

57. Thy five wits. See on iii. 4. 58 above. 

69. Brach. See on i. 4. 118 above. Lym is Hanmer's correc- 
tion of the " him " or " Him " of the quartos and " Hym " of the 
folios. The word meant a lime-hound, or a hound led in a lime, 
or leash. 

70. Tike. A small dog, or cur. Cf. Hen. J 7 , ii. I. 31. Nares 
gives trindle-tail as "a corruption of trundle-tail, or curly-tail" 
and cites Beaumont and Fletcher, Love's Cure, iii. 3 : — 

" Like a poor cur, clapping his trindle tail 
Between his legs." 

73. Hatch. A half-door, or the lower half of a divided door; com- 
mon now in English cottages. Cf. K. John i. 1. 171, v. 2. 138, etc. 

74. Sessa ! See on iii. 4. 100 above. 

75. Thy horn is dry. "A horn was usually carried about by 
every Tom of Bedlam, to receive such drink as the charitable might 
afford him, with whatever scraps of food they might give him " 
(Malone). Aubrey, in his MS. Natural History of Wiltshire, in 
describing " Bedlam beggars," says : " they wore about their necks 
a great horn of an oxe in a string or bawdric, which, when they 
came to an house for almes, they did wind; and they did putt the 
drink given them into this horn, whereto they did putt a stopple." 

76. Anatomize Regan. That is, dissect her after executing her. 
Cf. A. Y. L.'\. 1. 162, ii. 7. 56, etc. 

79. Entertain. Take into service, engage. Cf. T. G. of V. ii. 
4. no: " Sweet lady, entertain him for your servant; " Much Ado, 
i. 3. 60: "entertained for a perfumer," etc. So entertainment — 
service; as in A. W. iii. 6. 13, iv. 1. 17, etc. 



Scene vi] Notes 249 

81. Persian. Perhaps a reminiscence of the Persian robes of an 
embassy sent to England early in James I.'s reign. 

84. Bucknill remarks here : " Lear is comparatively tranquil in 
conduct and language during the whole period of Edgar's mad 
companionship. It is only after the Fool has disappeared, and 
Edgar has left to be the guide of his blind father, that the king 
becomes absolutely wild and incoherent. The singular and un- 
doubted fact is, that few things tranquillize the insane more than 
the companionship of the insane. It is a fact not easily explicable, 
but it is one of which, either by the intuition of genius, or by the 
information of experience, S. appears to be aware." 

85. And I HI go to bed at noon. White remarks: "About the 
middle of the play the Fool suddenly disappears, making in reply 
to Lear's remark, ' We '11 go to supper in the morning,' the fitting 
rejoinder, 'And I '11 go to bed at noon.' Why does he not return? 
Clearly for this reason : he remains with Lear during his insanity, 
to answer in antiphonic commentary the mad king's lofty ravings 
with his simple wit and homespun wisdom : but after that time, 
when Lear sinks from frenzy into forlorn imbecility, the Fool's 
utterances would have jarred upon our ears. The situation be- 
comes too grandly pathetic to admit the presence of a jester, who, 
unless he is professional, is nothing. Even Shakespeare could not 
make sport with the great primal elements of woe. And so the 
poor Fool sought the little corner where he slept, turned his face 
to the wall, and- went to bed in the noon of his life for the last 
time — functus officio." 

89. Upon. Against. We may still say " an attack upon him." 

94. Thine, and all, etc. Thine and that of all, etc. As Abbott 
remarks, the Elizabethan writers object to scarcely any ellipsis that 
can be readily supplied from the context. 

95. Assured loss. Assurance, or certainty, of loss ; or stand in 
= stand in danger of, are exposed to. Cf. 100 below. 

98. Balm'd. Anointed with healing balm, healed. Elsewhere 
(T. of S. ind. i. I. 48 and Per. iii. 2. 65) it is used of fragrant 



250 Notes [Act in 

applications. Sinews — nerves ; as in V. and A. 903, and some- 
times in other writers of the time. 

99. Convenience. A quadrisyllable. 

100. Stand in hard cure. Will be hard to cure. Cf. Oth, ii. I. 
51 : " Stand in bold cure." 

106. Sufferance. Suffering; as often in S. Cf. J. C. ii. I. 115, 
etc. 

107. Bearing. Endurance of suffering. 

108. Portable. Bearable, endurable; as in Macb. iv. 3. 89: "all 
these are portable." 

no. Childed'\s> not found elsewhere in S. For fathered, cf. J. C. 
ii. 1. 297 and Macb. iv. 2. 27. 

III. The high noises. "The loud tumults of approaching war " 
(Steevens). Bewray = disclose, discover. See on ii. 1. 109 above. 
Johnson paraphrases the passage thus : " Attend to the great events 
that are approaching, and make thyself known when that false 
opinion now prevailing against thee shall, in consequence of just 
proof of thy integrity, revoke its erroneous sentence and recall 
thee to honour and reconciliation." 

113. Repeals. Recalls. Cf. J. C. iii. i. 51, etc. 

1 14. What will hap. Happen what will. 

SCENE VII. — 2. Letter. Cf. iii. 5. n above. 
7. Revenges. For the plural, cf. ii. 4. 277 above. 
10. Festinate. Speedy. The word is used by S. only here, but 
feslinately is one of Armado's affectations in L. L. L. iii. 1. 6. 

12. Swift and intelligent. Prompt in conveying information. 
See on iii. 1. 25 above. 

13. My lord of Gloster. "Meaning Edmund, newly invested 
with his father's titles" (Johnson). Cf. iii. 5. 18 above. Oswald 
in 14 refers to the old earl. 

17. Questrists. Seekers, searchers (Fr. questeur). The word is 
not found elsewhere. Cf. questant in A. W. ii. I. 16. 

18. Lord's dependants. Some editors print " lords dependants " 



Scene vii] Notes 251 

(= dependant lords) ; but, as Furness remarks, it clearly means 
Gloster's dependants. There were no lords dependent on the 
king, but only certain knights. The question in 46 below doubt- 
less refers to Gloster's agency in giving Lear an escort of some of 
his own followers. 

24. Pass upon. ''That is, pass a judicial sentence" (Johnson). 
It is still a legal term (Furness). 

26. Do a courtesy to. Yield to, obey. Cf. M.for M. ii. 4. 175 : 
" Bidding the law make court'sy to their will." 

28. Ingrateful. See on ii. 4. 160 above. 

29. Corky. " Dry, withered, husky " (Johnson) ; used by S. 
only here. Harsnet has the expression : " an old corkie woman." 

37. Naughty. A striking instance of the old strong meaning 
of the word. See on iii. 4. 1 1 1 above. 

39. Quicken. Come to life. Cf. Oth. iii. 3. 277, etc. 

40. My hospitable favours. The features of me your host. Cf. 
I Hen. IV. iii. 2. 136 : "And stain my favours in a bloody mask ; " 
where most editors read " favour." Steevens quotes David and 
Bethsabe, 1599 : "To daunt the favours of his lovely face." 

43. Simple-answer 1 d. Plain in your answer. Cf. better-spoken 
in iv. 6. 10 below. 

45. Footed. See on iii. 3. 14 above. 

54. / am tied, etc. An allusion to bear-baiting. Cf. Macb. v. 

7. 1 : — 

" They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, 
But, bear-like, I must fight the course ; " 

Course was the technical term for a bout or round in the baiting. 
Cf. Brome, Antipodes : " two ten-dog courses at the great bear." 

60. Buoyed up. Lifted itself up. The verb occurs nowhere 
else in S. For the noun, see iv. 6. 19 below. 

61. Stelled. Fixed, as Schmidt explains.it ; not = starry (from 
stelld), as some make it. Cf. R. of L. 1444 and Sonn. 24. 1. 

62. Holp. Often used by S. both as past tense and participle of 
help. 



252 Notes [Act in 

63. Stern. The quartos have "dearn" (=: dreadful), which 
some editors adopt. The word occurs in Per. iii. prol. 15 : "By 
many a dearn and painful perch." 

65. All cruels else subscribe. The quartos have " subscrib'd." 
As Furness remarks, this is " the most puzzling phrase " in the 
play. If we follow the folio, we may as well put the words into 
the address to the porter, as Furness does. He suggests two para- 
phrases (" acknowledge the claims of all creatures, however cruel 
they may be at other times," or " give up all cruel things else — 
that is, forget that they are cruel"), and the second may be 
right. "As in i. 2. 19, Lear subscribed his powers, so here the 
porter should stibscribe all cruels, that is, he should surrender, 
yield, give up whatsoever was cruel in the poor beasts, and see 
only their claim to his compassion ; " or, more concisely, " condone 
all cruelties." For the general meaning of the passage, cf. iv. 7. 36 
fol. below. 

67. See V shall thou never ! Coleridge asks : " What can I say 
of this scene? — There is my reluctance to think Shakespeare 
wrong, and yet — ." Elsewhere he says : " I will not disguise my 
conviction that in this one point the tragic in this play has been 
urged beyond the outermost mark and ne plus ultra of the 
dramatic." 

77. What do you mean ? Furness asks : " Should not this be 
given to Cornwall ? " So S. may have intended. 

78. Villain. In its literal sense of serf. Moberly remarks : 
" As a villain could hold no property but by his master's sufferance, 
had no legal rights as against his lord, and was (perhaps) incapable 
of bearing witness against freemen, that one should raise his sword 
against his master would be unheard-of presumption, for which 
any punishment would be admissible. The lord's making war 
against his superior lord would entail no such consequences." 

87. Quit. Requite ; as often, Cf. Ham. v. 2. 68, etc. 
89. Overture. Disclosure. Cf. W. T. ii. 1. 172: "without 
more overture." 



Scene I] Notes 253 

91. O. Monosyllabic exclamations sometimes take the place of 
a foot in the verse. Cf. iv. 2. 26 below. 

98. Untimely. Adverbial; as in Ham. iv. I. 40: "untimely 
done," etc. 

101. Old course of death. Ordinary course of death, a natural 
death. Wordsworth (Shakespeare 's Knowledge and Use of the 
Bible) compares Numbers, xvi. 29. 

103. Bedlam. Lunatic; as in K.John, ii. I. 83: "Bedlam, 
have done." , 

105. Allows itself to. Allows itself to be turned to, or em- 
ployed in. 

106. Flax and whites of eggs. A common remedy in that day. 



ACT IV 



Scene I. — 3. Dejected thing of fortune. Thing cast down by 
fortune. 

4. Esperance. Hope; as in T. and C. v. 2. 121 : "An esper- 
ance so obstinately strong." 

7. Unsubstantial. Cf. R. and J. v. 3. 103. Insubstantial occurs 
in Temp. iv. i. 155. See on ii. 4. 160 above. 

9. Owes nothing to thy blasts. Need not care for them ; or, has 
nothing to thank them for. 

12. Life would not yield to age. "We so hate life that we 
gladly find ourselves lapsing into old age, and approaching death, 
which will deliver us from it (Moberly) . 

20. Our means secure us. "The advantages we enjoy make us 
careless" (Schmidt). For secure, cf. T. of .A. ii. 2. 185 : — 

" Canst thou the conscience lack 
To think I shall lack friends ? Secure thy heart ; " 



254 Notes [Act iv 

and Oth. i. 3. 10: "I do not so secure me in the error," etc. 
Wright explains the passage thus : "Things we think meanly of, our 
mean or moderate condition, are our security; " and he adds that 
he knows of no instance of the verb secure = to render careless. / 
know of no instance of means = mean things, or " moderate con- 
dition." Knight says : " The means, such as we possess, are our 
securities, and, further, our mere defects prove advantages." Sun- 
dry emendations have been suggested, but the old text is probably 
right, and the choice of explanations lies between Schmidt's and 
Knight's. 

21. Commodities. Advantages. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. i. 2. 278. 

22. Abused. Deceived, deluded ; as often. Cf. Cymb. iii. 4. 
123, etc. 

37. They kill us for their sport. Wordsworth {Shakespeare' 's 
Knowl. of Bible) says : " I very much doubt whether S. would have 
allowed any but a heathen character to utter this sentiment." 

39. Angering itself and others. "He at the same time dis- 
pleases himself and the person he endeavours to amuse " (Heath). 

46. Times'. The plural, not the singular. Cf. M. for M. iii. 2. 
288: "Making practice on the times;" M. of V. ii. 9. 48: "the 
chaff and ruin of the times," etc. But the singular is similarly 
used ; as in T. G. of V. iii. 1. 86, Macb. v. 8. 24, Ham. iii. 2. 27, etc. 
When madmen lead the blind — " when enthusiasts madden the 
ignorant." 

52. Daub it. Disguise ; as in Rich. III. iii. 5. 29 : " So smooth 
he daub'd his vice with show of virtue." 

61. Flibbertigibbet. Cf. iii. 4. 115 above. Mopping and mowing 
= making faces or grimaces. The two words have the same mean- 
ing, and are often thus conjoined. Cf. Temp. iv. 1. 47 : — 

" Each one, tripping on his toe, 
Will be here with mop and mow ," etc. 

63. Chambermaids. Probably an allusion to Harsnet's account 
of three chambermaids in the family of Mr. Edmund Peckham. 



Scene ii] Notes 255 

Perhaps, as Moberly thinks, there may be a general reference to 
chambermaids "who perform these antics before their mistress's 
dressing-glass." 

67. Makes thee the happier. " That is, because my wretchedness 
now teaches me to compassionate those who are in distress" 
(Wordsworth). Cf. Dido's "Non ignara mali miseris succurrere 
disco." 

68. Superfluous. Having more than enough. Cf. A. W. i. 1. 
116: " Cold wisdom waiting on superfluous folly." See also ii. 4. 
260 above. 

69. That slaves, etc. " Who, instead of paying the deference and 
submission due to your ordinance, treats it as his slave, by making 
it subservient to his views of pleasure or interest" (Heath). 

74. There is a cliff, etc. The cliff, now known as Shakespeare' s 
Cliff, is just outside of the town of Dover, to the southwest. It has 
been somewhat diminished in height by frequent landslips, but is 
still about 350 feet high. The surge still chafes against the peb- 
bles, and the samphire-gatherer is still let down in a basket to 
pursue his perilous trade ; but the cliff is not so perpendicular, noi 
do objects below seem so small, as one would infer from the poet's 
description. Probably he did not mean to give a picture of this 
particular cliff, but delineated one " in his mind's eye," and more 
or less ideal. The South Eastern Railway now runs through the 
Dover cliff in a tunnel 1331 yards long. 

75. Confined. Restrained, kept back by the cliff. 

Scene II. — I. Welcome. She welcomes him to her house after 
reaching it in his company (Delius). Our mild husband is con- 
temptuous. 

2. Not. For the transposition, see on ii. 1. 77 above, and cf. 
53 below. 

8. Sot. Fool (like the Fr. sot) ; the only meaning in S. So sot-, 
tish — foolish, in the one instance in which he uses it, A. and C, 
iv. 15. 79. 



256 



Notes [Act iv 



1 1 . What like, offensive. Ellipses in antithetical sentences are 
common. 

12. Cowish. Cowardly; used by S. only here. 

14. Answer. That is, a manly answer to a challenge ; as in 
Ham. v. 2. 179 and T. and C. i. 3. 332. 

16. Powers. Forces. See on iii. I. 30 above. 

19. Like. Likely ; as in i. 1. 296 above and iv. 7. 95 below. 

22. Decline your head. Either that she may put a chain round 
his neck (Delius), or to receive the kiss. 

24. Conceive. Understand; as in Temp. iv. I. 50, etc. 

26. O. See on iii. 7. 91 above. 

29. / have been worth the whistle. There was a time when you 
would not have waited so long without coming to meet me. 
Steevens quotes Heywood's Proverbs : " A poore dogge that is not 
woorth the whystlyng." 

31. Fear = fear for ; as in v. I. 16 below. 

32. That nature, etc. That nature which despises its origin 
cannot be restrained within any bounds whatever, but is capable of 
any depravity. For it possessive, cf. i. 4. 222 above. 

34. Sliver. Cf. Macb. iv. 1. 28: " Sliver'd in the moon's 
eclipse." The word is in common use in this country, but appar- 
ently obsolete (or provincial) in England. Disbranch is used by 
S. only here. 

35. Material. Furnishing matter, nourishing. Schmidt re- 
marks : " From Shakespeare's use of material elsewhere, in the 
sense of full of matter, and hence of importance, it is not easy to 
explain it here." But here it is = " full of matter," in a sense in 
which S. often uses matter (= substance, materials). Perforce — 
of necessity ; used only with must in this sense. Cf. 49 below. It 
is often = by force; as in i. 4. 305 and i. 5. 40 above. 

36. Deadly use. Ruin, or destruction ; like the use made of 
wood when dead (that is, for burning). 

39. Filths. Cf. T. of A. iv. 1. 6: "To general filths," etc. 
Savour = have a taste or relish for. 



Scene II] Notes 257 

42. Head-lugg'd. Led by the head. Cf. I Hen. IV. i. 2. 82 : 
"a lugged bear." 

43. Madded. Cf. 7?^. //". v. 5. 61 : "This music mads me," 
etc. S. does not use madden. 

47. Tame. Schmidt thinks the word suspiciously "weak"; but 
S. often uses it in the sense of " subdue " or " crush " (see 
Schmidt's Lexicon) ; as in K. John, v. 2. 74 : " And tame the sav- 
age spirit of wild war," etc. See also iii. 6. 18 above. 

50. Milk-liver 'd. See on ii. 2. 17 above. 

54. Tools do those villains, etc. I am inclined to agree with 
Furness that this probably refers to Albany himself, not to Gloster 
or Lear as others explain it. " She cannot refer to Gloster, because 
Albany is ignorant of what had been done to him, and she herself 
had left Gloster's castle before the blinding was accomplished; 
and it is difficult to believe that she refers to Lear." 

55. Where 's thy drum ? That is, why are you not rallying your 
forces ? 

56. Noiseless. With no sound of warlike preparation. 

58. Moral. Moralizing. Cf. Much Ado, v. I. 30, A. Y. L. ii. 
7. 29, etc. 

60. Proper deformity. Native depravity. Cf. 2 Hen, IV. iv. 

I.37-S — 

" if damn d commotion so appear d 

In his true native and most proper shape." 

62. Self-cover 'd. Whose natural (feminine) self is covered or 
concealed. The meaning then is: Thou perverted creature, who 
hast lost thy proper self (either thy womanly self, or thy self as it 
has seemed to me, the ideal of my affection) and hast become a 
fiend, do not thus make a monster of thyself. Were it becoming 
in me to yield to the angry impulse, I could tear thee limb from 
limb; but, fiend though thou art, thy woman's shape doth shield 
thee. "Is it over-refinement to suppose that this revelation to 
Albany of his wife's fiendlike character transforms, in his eyes, 
even her person? She is changed, her true self has been covered ; 

KING LEAR — 1 7 



258 Notes [Act iv 

now that she stands revealed, her whole outward shape is be- 
monstered. No woman, least of all Goneril, could remain un- 
moved under such scathing words from her husband. Goneril's 
' feature ' is quivering and her face distorted with passion. Then 
it is that Albany tells her not to let her evil self, hitherto covered 
and concealed, betray itself in all its hideousness in her outward 
shape" (Furness). No emendation is necessary, but several have 
been proposed. For feature = bodily shape in general, figure, form, 
cf. Ham. iii. I. 167; and for blood = passion, anger, L. L. L. i. 2. 32. 
65. To dislocate and tear Thy flesh and bones. That is, to tear 
thy flesh and dislocate thy bones. The construction is used by S. 
many times (cf. i. 4. 250 above) ; and sometimes, as here, without 
preserving the proper order of the corresponding words. Cf. 

Cymb. iii. I. 3: — 

" And will to ears and tongues 
Be theme and hearing ever ; " 

A. and C. iv. 15. 25 : — 

" If knife, drugs, serpents have 

Edge, sting, or operation," etc. 
For the proper order, cf. Macb. i. 3. 60 : — 

" Who neither beg nor fear 
Your favours nor your hate ; " 

W. T. iii. 2. 164 : — 

" Though I with death and with 
Reward did threaten and encourage him," etc. 

68. Your manhood now ! Sarcastic : " This is your manhood, 
is it?" Moberly paraphrases thus: "A nice notion you have of 
manhood ! " 

73. Remorse. Pity, compassion ; as very often. Cf. Temp. v. 
1. 76, Macb. i. 5. 45, etc. 

74. Opposed. Opposed himself. For oppose against, cf. W. T. v. 
1. 46: — 






Scene III] Notes 259 

" *T is your counsel 
My lord should to the heavens be contrary, 
Oppose against their wills." 

It is often used refiexively; as in K. John, iii. I. 170, Rich. II. iii. 3. 
18, etc. Bending . . . to — turning against. 
75. To. In the direction of, against. 

78. Pluck 'd. A favourite word with S. It occurs six times in 
the present play. 

79. Justicers. See on iii. 6. 21 above. Nether — committed on 
earth (opposed to above). 

80. Venge. Not to be printed " 'venge," as in many eds. It is 
the Fr. venger (Latin vindicare), but has now given place to avenge 
and revenge. Cf. vengeance and vengeful* 

83. One way, etc. " Goneril's plan was to poison her sister, — 
to marry Edmund, — to murder Albany, — and to get possession of 
the whole kingdom. As the death of Cornwall facilitated the last 
part of her scheme, she was pleased at it; but disliked it, as it put 
it in the power of her sister to marry Edmund" (Mason). 

85. The building in my fancy. Cf. Cor. ii. 1. 216: — 

" my very wishes 
And the buildings of my fancy." 

86. Another way. Really the same as the One way in 8^, the 
other way — which she did not like — being introduced by the But. 

90. Back again. That is, going back again. 

Scene III. — This scene is omitted in the folios. 

Enter . . . a Gentleman. " The same whom he had sent with 
letters to Cordelia" (Johnson). 

8. Who. For whom, as often. Cf. i. 4.. 25 above and v. 3. 250 
below. 

11. Letters. Letter; as often. Cf. M.ofV.'vi. 1. 108,^. W. 
iii. 3. 148, M.for M. iv. 3. 97, etc. 



160 Notes [Act iv 

14. TrilVd. Trickled : used by S. only here. Cf. Brit. Pasto- 
rals, ii. 4: "And chilly drops trill o'er his staring eyes." 

16. Who. See on i. 1. 107 and i. 2. 47 above, and cf. 19 below. 

21. A better way. A much disputed passage. Clarke says: "It 
means that her mingled ' smiles and tears ' expressed her feelings in 
' a better way ' than either ' patience or sorrow ' could do separately; 
each of which 'strove who should express her goodliest.' The 
words ' her smiles and tears were like a better way,' moreover, in- 
clude comparison with the opening phrase of the speech, ' Not to a 
rage '; showing that her emotion vented itself in nothing like rage, 
but ('a better way') in gentle 'smiles and tears,' compounded of 
both 'patience and sorrow.'" Various emendations have been 
suggested. Smilets is " a purely Shakespearian diminutive " used 
only here. 

24. As pearls, etc. Steevens takes the poetry out of the passage 
by the following note, which might have been written by a jeweller's 
apprentice : " This idea might have been taken from the ornaments 
of the ancient carcanet or necklace, which frequently consisted of 
table diamonds with pearls appended to them, or, in the jeweller's 
phrase, dropping from them. Pendants for the ear are still called 
dropsy 

31. Let pity not be believed I That is, believed to exist. 

33. And, clamour --moisten f d, etc. The quartos read "And clamour 
moistened her." Capell gave " And clamour moisten'd " = allayed 
with tears her grief ready to burst out into clamour, as winds are 
allayed by rain. Moberly explains it, "Shed tears upon her cry 
of sorrow." Walker makes clamour-moisten 'd refer to eyes ; 
or, as Furness puts it, " her eyes that were heavenly and wet 
with wailing." Furness prefers this explanation, but believes 
the passage to be corrupt — as it probably is. For the construc- 
tion he compares Hen. V. ii. 2. 139: "the full-fraught man and 
best endued." 

34. It is the stars, etc. Cf. i. 2. 105 fol. above. 

35. Conditions. Nature, disposition. Cf. i. 1. 292 above. 



Scene IV] Notes 261 

36. Self mate and mate. " The same husband and wife " 
(Johnson). For self, cf. i. I. 64 above. 

37. Spoke not. Have not spoken. Cf. Hen. V. iv. 7. 58 : "I 
was not angry since I came to France," etc. 

44. Elbows. Perhaps = pushes him aside (Schmidt). The word 
is a puzzling one, and probably one of the corruptions of this cor- 
rupt scene, " perhaps the most corrupt throughout Shakespeare's 
plays " (Furness). 

47. Dog-hearted. Inhuman, brutal. Craig, in his note on this pas- 
sage, says that " S. rarely, if ever, says anything good of the dog ; " 
but see the description of the hounds in M. N. D. iv. 1. 118 fol.; 
the talk of the hunters in T. of S. ind. 1. 16 fol.; Page's defence 
of his greyhound against the criticism of Slender (M. W.'\. I. 96 
fol.); the classification of dogs in Macb. iii. 1. 92 fol.; "the cun- 
ning hounds " in V. and A. 687, etc. S. evidently loved dogs as 
he did horses, though he naturally often makes his characters refer 
to them with the ordinary contemptuous and derogatory metaphors 
taken from the meaner types of the animal. 

51. 'Tis so, they are afoot. "So it is that they are on foot" 
(Johnson); "they are actually on foot" (Malone). 

53. Some dear cause. Some important business. Cf. i. 4. 279 
above. 

Scene IV. — 3. Fumiter. Fumitory; the common name for 
plants of the genus Fumaria. Cf. Hen. V. v. 2. 45 : " The darnel, 
hemlock, and rank fumitory." 

4. Burdocks. The quartos have " hor-docks," and the folios 
" Hardokes " or " Ffardocks." Burdocks is Hanmer's emendation, 
adopted by most of the editors. The common burdock {Lappa 
officinalis, Wood) grows abundantly by roadsides and in waste 
places both in England and in this country. Hemlock is one of the 
ingredients of the witches' cauldron, in Macb. i. 4. 25. See also the 
quotation from Hen. V. just above. Nettles are often mentioned 
by S.j as in W. T.i. 3. 329, Rich. IF iii. 2. 18, Hen. VA.U 60, etc. 



161 Notes [Act iv 

Cuckoo-flowers. Cf. cuckoo-buds in L. <L. L. v. 2. 906. According 
to Beisly, the Lychnis flos-cuculi is here meant; but that has " rose- 
coloured flowers," while the cuckoo-buds in JL. L. L. are " of yellow 
hue." Ellacombe thinks that either the cowslip or the buttercup is 
meant, and he is inclined, with Dr.*Prior, to decide on the latter. 

5. Darnel. The Lolium temulentum. Cf fc Hen. V. v. 2. 45 and 
1 Hen* VlJm.. 2. 44. According to Ellacombe, in the time of S. 
darnel, like cockle, was used as " a general name for any hurtful 
weed." Idle = unprofitable, worthless ; opposed to sustaining. 

6. Century. A company of a hundred men ; as in Cor. i. 7. 3. 
In the only other instance of the word in S. (Cymb. iv. 2. 391 : " a 
century of prayers"), it means simply a hundred, 

8. Can, Cf. Temp. iv. 1. 27 : " Our worser genius can," etc. 

10. Helps. Heals, cures; as in R. of L. 1822, Temp. ii. 2. 97, 
T. G.*of V. iv. 2. 47, etc. 7b&? is 3d pers. imperative, or "sub- 
junctive imperative." 

11. Means. For the singular use, cf. M. of V. ii. 1. 19, W. T. 
iv. 4. 632, 865, etc. Dr. Kellogg {Shakespeare's Delin. of Insanity, 
p. 26) remarks: "The reply of the Physician is significant, and 
worthy of careful attention, as embracing a brief summary of almost 
the only true principles recognized by modern science, and now 
carried out by the most eminent physicians in the treatment of the 
insane. We find here no allusion to the scourgings, the charms, 
the invocation of saints, etc., employed by the most eminent physi- 
cians of the time of S. ; neither have we any allusion to the rotary 
chairs, the vomitings, the purgings by hellebore, the showerings, 
the bleedings, scalp-shavings, and blisterings, which, even down to 
our own times, have been inflicted upon these unfortunates by 
' science falsely so called,' and which stand recorded as imperish- 
able monuments of medical folly; but in place of all this, S., 
speaking through the mouth of the Physician, gives us the princi- 
ple, simple, truthful, and universally applicable." 

14. Simples, Medicinal herbs. Cf. A, Y. L. iv, I. 16: "com- 
pounded of many simples," etc. 



Scene V] Notes 263 

15. Anguish. Generally used in S. of physical pain. Cf. iv. 6. 
6 below. 

17. Aidant and remediate. Helpful and healing. S. uses neither 
adjective elsewhere; but we find aidance in V. and A. 330 and 
2 Hen. VI. iv. 4. 17. 

19. Ungovern 'd. Unbridled ; as in T, G. of V. iv. 1. 45 : "the 
fury of ungovern'd youth." 

26. Important. Importunate. Cf. Much Ado t ii. I. 74, A. W. 
iii. 7. 21, etc. , 

27. Blown. Inflated, swollen. Cf. A. and C. v. 2. 352. 

28. Aged. Abbott makes the word here a monosyllable, and 
seems to think that the only alternative is to make our a dissylla- 
ble; but why not scan thus: " But love, | dear love, | and our a- | 
gedfa- I ther's right"? 

Scene V. — 13. Nighted. Darkened. The word occurs again 
in Ham. i. 2. 68 : " thy nighted colour." 

20. By word. By word of mouth, orally. Belike = it is likely, 
it may be. 

22. Madam, I had rather — . Johnson says : " I know not well 
why S. gives to Oswald, who is a mere factor of wickedness, so 
much fidelity. He now refuses the letter; and afterwards, when 
he is dying, thinks only how it may be safely delivered." Ver- 
planck remarks : " S. has here incidentally painted, without the 
formality of a regular moral lesson, one of the very strange and 
very common self-contradictions of our enigmatical nature. Zeal- 
ous, honourable, even self-sacrificing fidelity, — sometimes to a 
chief or leader, sometimes to a party, a faction, or a gang, — ap- 
pears to be so little dependent on any principle of virtuous duty 
that it is often found strongest among those who have thrown off 
the common restraints of morality. It would seem that when 
man's obligations to his God or his kind are rejected or forgotten, 
the most abandoned mind still craves something for the exercise of 
its natural social sympathies, and as it loses sight of nobler and truer 



264 



Notes [Act iv 



duties becomes, like the Steward, more and more ' duteous to the 
vices ' of its self-chosen masters." 

25. (Eillades. Amorous glances. The word is spelled " aliads " 
in the quartos, and " Eliads " or " Iliads " in the folios. Cf. M. W. 
i. 3. 68 : " Page's wife, who even now gave me good eyes too, 
examined my parts with most judicious oeillades." 

26. Of her bosom. In her confidence. Cf. J. C. v. I. 7: "I am 
in their bosoms." 

29. Take this note. Take note of this, attend to what I say. It 
could not have been a letter, because when Oswald was afterward 
killed by Edgar, and his pockets rifled, only one letter was found, 
and that was Goneril's. See iv. 6. 245 below. 

35. Desire her call, etc. Tell her to help herself, if she can. 

Scene VI. — The materials of this scene are taken from Sidney's 
Arcadia. See p. 173 fol. above. 

3. Horrible. For the adverbial use, cf. T. N. iii. 4. 196: 
"swear horrible; " I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 402: "horrible afeard," etc. 

10. You We better-spoken ; like well-spoken in T. G. of V. i. 2. 10. 
Cf. Orlando's comment on Rosalind's speech in A. Y. L. iii. 2. 359. 

13. Choughs. The Corvus monedula. Cf. M. N. D. ii. 2. 21 
and Macb. iii. 4. 12. 

14. Gross. Big, large. Cf. the quibble in I Hen. IV. ii. 4. 250: 
" These lies are like their father that begets them; gross as a 
mountain, open, palpable." 

15. Sampire. The spelling of the early eds. and more in keep- 
ing with its derivation (from the Fr. " 1' herbe de Saint-Pierre " ) 
than the modern samphire. Gerarde, in his Herbal, gives as one 
of its Italian names, Herba di San Pietro. He says : " Rocke 
Sampier groweth on the rocky cliffe's at Douer." Malone says : 
" This personage is not a mere creature of Shakespeare's imagina- 
tion, for the gathering of samphire was literally a trade or common 
occupation in his time, it being carried and cried about the streets, 
and much used as a pickle." Cf. Drayton, Polyolbion, xviii. : — 



\ 



Scene VI] Notes 265 

" Rob Dover's neighbouring cleeves of samphire, to excite 
His dull and sickly taste, and stir up appetite." 

18. Yond. Not to be printed "yond'," as it often is. It is not 
a contraction of yonder. 

19. Cock. Cockboat; the only mention of it in S. 

21. Unnumbered. Innumerable; as in J. C. iii. I. 63: "The 
skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks." Cf. untented in i. 4. 291 
above. For idle, cf. iv. 4. 5 above. Pebble is used collectively; 
but some eds. adopt the harsh reading, " pebbles chafes." 

23. Deficient. Defective, failing ; used by S. only here and in 
Oth. i. 3. 63 : " Being not deficient, blind, or lame of sense." 

27. Upright. So near the edge of the cliff it would be danger- 
ous to leap even upwards. 

35. Sights. For the plural, cf. Rich. II. iv. 1. 314: "Whither 
you will, so I were from your sights." Such plurals are common in 
S. when more than one person is meant. 

38. Opposeless. Not to be opposed ; used by S. only here. 

39. My snuff, etc. Cf. A. W. i. 2. 59 : — 

" ' Let me not live,' quoth he, 
' After my flame lacks oil, to be the snuff 
Of younger spirits ' " 

(that is, to be called a snuff by them). 

42. Conceit. Imagination ; as in Ham. iii. 4. 1 14, etc. " The 
illusion may be so strong," Edgar says, " as actually to cause 
death." 

47. Pass. Pass away, die ; as in v. 3. 315 below. Cf. 2 Hen. 
VI. iii. 3. 25 : " let him pass peaceably." 

50. Fathom. S. uses both fathom and fathoms in the plural. 
Cf. A. Y. L. iv. 1. 210: "how many fathom deep; " T. and C. 
i. 1. 50: "how many fathoms deep," etc. 

53. At each. Joined end to end. 

54. Fell also occurs as the participle in T. A. ii. 4. 50 and T. of 
A. iv. 3. 265. 



166 Notes [Act iv 

57. Bourn. Boundary. Cf. Temp. ii. 1. 152: "Bourn, bound 
of land," etc. 

58. A-height. To the height, aloft. We find " a-high " in Rich. 
III. iv. 4. 86. Shrill-gorg' d = shrill-throated. For gorge = throat, 
stomach, cf. Oth. ii. I. 236, etc. 

71. Whelk 'd. Protruding, like whelks. Cf. Hen. V. iii. 6. 108: 
" His face is all bubukles, and whelks, and knobs," etc. Enridged 
is used by S. only here. Cf. V. and A. 820 : " Whose ridges with 
the meeting clouds contend; " and R. of L. 1439: "with swelling 
ridges." 

73. Clearest. This has been variously defined as " open and 
righteous," " purest," and " clear-sighted." As Schmidt remarks, 
it seems to combine the ideas of " bright, pure, and glorious." In 
Lycidas, 70, " clear spirit " is = " noble mind" in 71. 

74. Men's impossibilities. What men call impossibilities. Capell 
cites Luke, xviii. 27. 

80. Free. Sound. Cf. M. of M. i. 2. 44: "whether thou art 
tainted or free," etc. 

81. Safer. Sounder, saner. Cf. M. for M. i. 1. 72: "safe dis- 
cretion ; " Cor. ii. 3. 226: "safer judgment," etc. Accotnmodate 
= equip, furnish. Cf. unaccommodated, iii. 4. 107 above. 

87. There 'j your press-money, etc. As Capell notes, Lear's mad 
thoughts are running upon war and warlike exercises, the enlisting 
of soldiers, the training of bowmen, etc. Press-money was the 
money given to a soldier when he was pressed into service. Cf. 
2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 296, where Wart receives " a tester," or sixpence. 

88. A crow-keeper. One who keeps off crows from a field. Cf. 
R. and J. i. 4. 6 : " Scaring the ladies like a crow-keeper." 

A clothier's yard. Steevens compares the old ballad of Chevy- 
Chace : " An arrow of a cloth-yard long." 

92. Brown bills. Halberds used by foot-soldiers. Cf. 2 Hen. 
VI. iv. 10. 13: "For many a time, but for a sallet, my brain-pan 
had been cleft with a brown bill." They were browned to protect 
them from rust. 



Scene VI] Notes 267 

Well flown, bird! The phrase is taken from falconry, but Lear 
uses it figuratively of the arrow. The clout was the white mark in 
the centre of the target. Cf. Z. Z. Z. iv. I. 136: " he '11 ne'er hit 
the clout." 

93. The word. The watchword ; as in Rich. III. v. 3. 349 and 
many other passages. 

94. Marjoram. The plant Origanum marjorana. Cf. A. W. 
iv. 5. 17, etc. 

98. And told me, etc. Told me that I had the wisdom of age 
before I had attained to that of youth (Capell). 

100. Ay and no too, etc. Clarke says : " Lear first exclaims in- 
dignantly : 'To say "ay" and "no" to everything I said! ' recol- 
lecting the facility with which his courtiers veered about in their 
answers to suit his varying moods, just as Osric does to Hamlet ; 
and then he goes on to say that this kind of ' ay ' and ' no ' too is 
no good divinity." 

103. Peace. Hold its peace. Cf. Oth. v. 2. 219 : — 

" Iago. Come, hold your peace. 
Emilia. 'T will out, *t will out ! I peace ! " 

107. Trick. Peculiarity. Cf. K.John, i. 1.85: "He hath a 
trick of Cceur-de-Lion's face; " I. Hen. IV. ii 4. 446: "a villa- 
nous trick of thine eye," etc. 

109. Subject. Probably collective ; as in M. for M. iii. 2. 145 : 
"The greater file of the subject held the duke to be wise." 

115. Civet. Cf. iii. 4. 105 above. 

119. Piece. Nearly = masterpiece, or model (Schmidt). Cf. 
Temp. i. 2. 56: "a piece of virtue; " W. T. iv. 4. 32: "a piece 
of beauty," etc. This great world = the macrocosm, as opposed to 
the microcosm, ox "little world of man" (iii. I. 10), implied in 
what precedes. 

122. Squiny. Squint. Wright says the word is still used in 
Suffolk ; and, as Furness adds, in this country also. I have heard 
a New England mother say to a boy, " Don't squiny up your eyes." 



268 Notes [Act iv 

126. It is. Emphatic; as in Macb.'x. 3. 141 : "and nothing is 
But what is not." 

129. The case. The empty socket. Cf. W. T. v. 2. 14: "to 
tear the cases of their eyes." 

130. Are you there with me? Is that what you mean? Cf. A. 
Y. L. v. 2. 32 : " O, I know where you are." Furness compares 

"take me with you " in R. and J. iii. 5. 140. 

134. Feelingly, In a heartfelt way. Lear takes it to mean 
" only by feeling, as I have no eyes." Simple = of low estate. Cf. 
A. and C. v. 2. 342 : " a simple countryman," etc. 

138. Handy-dandy. A children's game, in which, by a sort of 
sleight of hand, a thing is passed quickly from one hand to the 
other. Douce quotes an old MS., A free discourse, etc. : " They 
. . . play with your majestie as men play with little children at 
handye dandye, which hand will you have, when they are disposed 
to keep any thinge from them." 

146. Through tatter 'd clothes great vices do appear. " When 
looked at through tattered clothes, all vices appear great " 
(Furness). 

147. Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Cf. R. of L. 93 : " Hid- 
ing base sin in plaits of majesty." Plate = clothe in plate 
armour. 

150. Able. Warrant, answer for. Cf. Middleton, Game at Chess: 
" That 's safe, I '11 able it." 

156. Matter. Meaning, sense. Cf. Ham. ii. 2. 95 : " More 
matter with less art;" Much Ado, ii. 1. 344: "all mirth and no 
matter," etc. Impertinency = what is not pertinent, or to the pur- 
pose. Douce says that the word was not used in the sense of rude or 
unmannerly till the middle of the 17th century, nor in that of saucy 
until a considerable time afterward. Cf. impertinent in Temp. i. 
2. 138. 

162. Wawl. Used by S. only here. Cf. caterwaul. 

165. This 1 . This is. The early eds. have "this a" or "This a." 
Block = the fashion of a hat, from the block on which it was shaped. 



Scene VI] Notes 269 

Cf. Much Ado, i. I. 77. Lear probably had no hat on his head, but 
only his fantastic crown of weeds. Furness says that in Edwin 
Booth's Prompt Book, there is the stage-direction, " Lear takes 
Curan's hat;" which is certainly better than to suppose that he 
took his own. 

166. A delicate stratagem, etc. Malone says: "This 'delicate 
stratagem ' had actually been put in practice fifty years before S. 
was born, as we learn from Lord Herbert's Life of Henry the 
Eighth : ' the ladye Margaret, . . . caused there a juste to be held 
in an extraordinary manner ; the place being a fore-room raised 
high from the ground by many steps, and paved with black square 
stones like marble; while the horses, to prevent sliding, were shod 
with felt or flocks [the Latin words are feltro sive tomento~\ : after 
which the ladies danced all night. ' " 

169. Then, kill, kill, etc. Formerly the word given in the Eng- 
lish army when an onset was made (Malone). Cf. V. and A. 652: 
" in a peaceful hour doth cry, ' kill, kill.' " See also The Mirrour 
of Magistrates : " Our Englishmen came boldly forth at night, 
crying, ' St. George, Salisbury, kill, kill ! ' " 

1 73. The natural fool of fortune. One born to be the sport of 
fortune. Cf. R. and J. iii. 1. 129: " I am fortune's fool." 

174. A surgeon. The word that S. uses elsewhere, but we find 
chirurgeonly in Temp. ii. 1. 140. 

175. Cut to the brains. Cf. Acts, v. 33: "cut to the heart." 
177. A man of salt. A man of tears. Cf. K. John, v. 7. 45, 

Ham. i. 2. 154, and Cor. v. 6. 93. 

181. Smug. Spruce. Cf. M. of V. iii. 1. 43, I Hen. IV. iii. I. 
102, etc. 

185. There 'j life in V. The case is not yet desperate. 

186. Sa, sa, sa, sa. " An exclamation inciting to swift running " 
(Schmidt). 

191. Speed you. May you speed, or prosper. Cf. T. G. of V. 
iv. 4. 112: "I would not have him speed," etc. 

192. Toward. See on ii. 1. 11 above. 



270 Notes [Act iv 

193. Vulgar. Commonly known. Cf. A. and C. iii. 13. 119: 
" vulgar fame," etc. 

194. Which. Who. See on i. 4. 258 above. 

196. The main descry, etc. "The main body is expected to be 
descried every hour " (Johnson). 

201. My worser spirit. Cf. iv. 7. 7 below and Temp. iv. I. 27: 
" Our worser genius." S. uses worser often, and sometimes adverb- 
ially ; as in A. and C. ii. 5. 90 : "I cannot hate thee worser than I 
do," etc. 

205. Feeling. Heartfelt, or touching ; or perhaps combining 
both senses. 'Cf. W. T. iv. 2. 8 : " To whose feeling sorrows I 
might be some allay." 

206. Pregnant. Disposed, ready. See on ii. 1. 78 above. 

207. Biding. Abiding-place, abode. Cf. R. of L. 550: "from 
their biding." 

209. To boot, and boot. Over and above my thanks. Herford 
sees a double meaning: "to boot, in addition (to my thanks), and 
(the bounty of heaven) be your help." 

212. Thyself remember. Recollect thy past sins, and commend 
thyself to heaven. 

213. Now let, etc. Clearly addressed to Oswald, as Furness 
explains it; not to Edgar, as some suppose. 

218. Chill. I will (in the Somersetshire dialect) contracted 
from ich will, as chud from ich would or ich should. In Grose's 
Provincial Glossary, chell is said to be used for / shall in Somerset 
and Devon, and cham for / am in Somerset. 

220. Gait. Way; now confined to northern dialects. 

224. Che vor ye. I warn you. Ise = I shall; still used in the 
western part of Somersetshire, and pronounced ice, as it is spelt 
in the folios (Wright). Costard = head; literally a kind of apple. 
Cf. Rich. III. i. 4. 159 and M. W. iii. I. 14. Ballow is a northern 
word = pole, cudgel. 

226. Out, dunghill! Cf. K. John, iv. 3. 87: "Out, dunghill! 
dar'st thou brave a nobleman?" 



Scene VI] Notes 271 

228. Foins. Thrusts in fencing; the only instance of the noun 
in S. For the verb, see M. W. ii. 3. 24, Much Ado, v. 1. 84, etc. 

231. Letters. Applied to a single letter, as in i. 5. 1 above. 
Malone says it is used like the Latin epistola, but he probably 
meant litterce, as epistolce is a quasi-singular only in post-classical 
writers. 

238. Father. Often used as an address to any old man. Cf. 
Macb. ii. 4. 4, M. of V. ii. 2. 76, etc. 

241. Deathsman. Executioner; as in R. of L. 1001, 2 Hen. VI. 
iii. 2. 217, etc. Edgar is sorry that he anticipated the hangman. 

242. Leave, gentle wax. Cf. Cymb. iii. 2. 35 : " Good wax, thy 
leave." 

243. We'd rip their hearts. Cf. Cymb. iii. 5. 86 : — 

" I '11 have this secret from thy heart, or rip 
Thy heart to find it." 

244. Their papers. For the ellipsis, cf. iv. 2. 1 1 above. 

247. Fruitfully. Abundantly, fully; as in A. W. ii. 2. 73, the 
only other instance of the adverb in S. 

254. indistinguish? d space, etc. " O, unmarked, boundless 
range of woman's will ! " Schmidt makes undistinguished (the 
2d quarto reading) = "incalculable, unaccountable." Indistin- 
guished occurs nowhere else in S., and undistinguished only in 
L. C. 20. For space, cf. i. 1. 51 above. 

257. Rake up. Cover by raking up the earth. Cf. the New 
England phrase, " to rake up a fire," that is, cover it with ashes. 
Unsanctified '= wicked; as in Macb. iv. 2. 81. Steevens thought 
it referred to his burial " in ground unsanctified " {Ham. v. I. 252). 
S. has the word only these three times. 

258. Mature. Accented here on the penult, because coming 
before a noun. 

260. L)eath-practis , d. Whose death is plotted. Cf. practise = 
plot, in iii. 2. 52 above. 

263. Ingenious. Conscious; or, perhaps, sensitive, acute. Cf. 



272 Notes [Act iv 

Ham. v. 1. 271 : "thy most ingenious sense ;" where it seems to 
mean " keen intellect." 

264. Distract. Qi.J. C. iv. 3. 155: "she fell distract," etc. 

269. Bestow. Lodge. See on ii. 4. 287 above. 

Scene VII. — 5. Modest. Moderate. See on ii. 4. 25 above. 

6. Suited. Dressed. Cf. M. of V. i. 2. 79, T. N. v. 1. 241, etc.; 
also Milton, //. Pens. 122: "Till civil-suited Morn appear." 

7. Weeds. Garments. Cf. M. N. D. ii. 2. 71 : "Weeds of 
Athens he doth wear," etc. Memories — memorials; as in A. Y. L. 
ii. 3. 3, etc. For worser, see on iv. 6. 201 above. 

9. My made intent. The intention or plan I have formed. 
Shortens = mars, prejudices. 

13. Sleeps. For the ellipsis of the subject, see on ii. 4. 42 above. 

16. The untuned, etc. Cf. Ham. iii. I. 166: "Like sweet bells 
jangled out of tune, and harsh." The metaphor in wind up is 
taken from a stringed instrument. 

17. Child-changed. Either "changed to a child," as some ex- 
plain it; or "changed by the conduct of his children," as others 
understand it. 

24. Temperance. Self-restraint, calmness. Cf. Macb. iv. 3. 92, etc. 

25. Music. Dr. Bucknill says : " This seems a bold experiment, 
and one not unfraught with danger. The idea that the insane mind 
is beneficially influenced by music is, indeed, an ancient and general 
one; but that the medicated sleep of insanity should be interrupted 
by it, and that the first object presented to the consciousness should 
be the very person most likely to excite profound emotion, appear 
to be expedients little calculated to promote that tranquillity of the 
mental functions which is, undoubtedly, the safest state to induce, 
after the excitement of mania. A suspicion of this may have crossed 
Shakespeare's mind, for he represents Lear in imminent danger of 
passing into a new form of delusion." 

26. Restoration hang, etc. Let restoration hang upon my lips 
the medicine to cure thee. 



Scene vii] Notes 273 

32. Opposed against. Cf. ii. 4. 174 above. 

33. Dread-bolted. Clarke calls attention to the number of 
compound words in this play. 

35. Perdu. Forlorn one ; according to Reed and others, an 
allusion to the enfants perdus, or soldiers sent on a desperate ser- 
vice. Craig refers it to the sentinelle perdu of the old French 
army, a sentinel placed in a very perilous position ; and the 
watch favours this interpretation. Perdu in this sense is found in 
Beaumont and Fletcher {Little French Lawyer, ii. 2) and Tour- 
neur {Atheist's Tragedy, ii. 65). 

36. Mine enemy's dog, etc. Verplanck remarks : " The late 
J. W. Jarvis, the artist, used often to quote these lines as accumu- 
lating in the shortest compass the greatest causes of dislike to be 
overcome by good-natured pity. It is not merely the personal 
enemy, for whom there might be human sympathy, that is admitted 
to the family fireside, but his dog, and that a dog who had him- 
self inflicted his own share of personal injury, and that too upon 
a gentle being from whom it was not possible that he could have 
received any provocation." 

39. To hovel. The only instance of the verb in S. ; and the 
noun occurs only in this play (iii. 2. 56 fol. and iii. 4. 174). 

40. Short. If this is what S. wrote, it must be = scanty, 
insufficient. 

42. Concluded all. Come to an end altogether. See on i. 1. 95 
above. 

47. That. So that ; as often. 

53. Abus'd. Deceived ; as in 77 below and iv. 1. 22 above. Cf. 
Ham. ii. 2. 632 : " Abuses me to damn me." 

60-75. I am a very foolish, etc. Dr. Ray says : " A more faithful 
picture of the mind, at the moment when it is emerging from the 
darkness of disease into the clear atmosphere of health restored, 
was never executed than this of Lear's recovery. Generally, re- 
covery from acute mania is gradual, one delusion after another 
giving away, until, after a series of struggles, which may occupy 
KING LEAR — 1 8 



274 Notes [Act iv 

weeks or months, between the convictions of reason and the sug- 
gestions of disease, the patient comes out a sound, rational man. 
In a small f proportion of cases, however, this change takes place 
very rapidly. Within the space of a few hours or a day he recog- 
nizes his true condition, abandons his delusions, and contemplates 
all his relations in an entirely different light." 

61. Not an hour more or less. Sir Joshua Reynolds and Steevens 
thought this must be an interpolation ; but Lear is not yet in his 
perfect mind. 

70. And so I am, I am. " Never surely was the passionate 
weeping of a reticent woman more perfectly expressed in brief 
written words than these and the ' No cause, no cause ' that follow. 
They so admirably portray the suppressed weeping natural to such 
a character as Cordelia's ; concentrated and undemonstrative, yet 
intensely loving and earnest" (Clarke). 

77. Abuse. Deceive ; as in iv. I. 22 above. 

78. Rage. Insanity ; as in C. of E. iv. 3. 89, etc. 

80. Even o'er. " That is, to reconcile it to his apprehension" 
(Warburton) . 

82. Till further settling. Till he becomes calmer. Dr. Brig- 
ham (Amer. Jour, of Insanity, July, 1844) remarks: "We con- 
fess, almost with shame, that, although near two centuries and 
a half have passed since S. thus wrote, we have very little to 
add to his method of treating the insane as thus pointed out. To 
produce sleep, and to quiet the mind by medical and moral treat- 
ment, to avoid all unkindness, and, when the patients begin to 
convalesce, to guard, as he directs, against anything likely to 
disturb their minds and to cause a relapse, is now considered 
the best and nearly the only essential treatment." For the old- 
time treatment of insanity, see A. Y. L. hi. 2. 421 : "a dark house 
and a whip." Cf. T. N. iii. 4. 148, v. 1. 350, and C. of E. iv. 4. 97, 
v. 1. 247. 

83. Walk. Withdraw. See on iii. 4. 107 above. 

95. Arbitrement. Decision. Cf. Rich. III. v. 3. 89 : — 



Scene I] Notes 275 

"the arbitrement 
Of bloody strokes and mortal-staring war." 

97. Throughly. Thoroughly ; as in Temp. iii. 3. 14, M. of V. 
iv. I. 173, etc. 



ACT V 

Scene I. — 4. His constant pleasure. His settled resolution. 
Cf. " constant will " in i. 1. 38 above. 

5. Miscarried. Lost, killed ; as often. Cf. 44 below. 

6. Doubted. Suspected, feared. So doubtful = suspicious, in 
12 below. 

7. Intend upon. Intend for, intend to confer upon. Elsewhere 
S. has intend to or toward. Cf. 66 below. 

9. Honoured. Honourable, virtuous. 

1 1 . Forfended. Forbidden. Elsewhere used by S. only in such 
phrases as God for fend, heaven forfend, etc. 

12. Conjunct. Intimately connected. See on ii. 2. 120 above. 

13. Bosom'd. Cf. "of her bosom" in iv. 5. 26 above. As far 
as we call hers = " Hers in the full sense of the word." 

16. Fear me not. Fear not for me. See on iv. 2. 31 above. 
18. Had rather. Good English now as then. Be-met = met ; 
used by S. only here. 

25. It toucheth us, etc. Because the French are invaders of his 
country, not merely the supporters of Lear. 

26. Folds. Encourages. The verb is found nowhere else in S., 
but we have bolden in A. Y. L. ii. 7. 91 and Hen. VIII. i. 2. 55. 

27. Make oppose. Cause or compel to fight against us. 

28. Reasoned. Discussed, talked about Cf. ii. 4. 262 above 
and M. of V. ii. 8. 27. 

30. Particular. Private, personal. Cf. i. 4. 345 above. See 
also the noun in ii. 4. 290 above. 



276 Notes [Act v 

32. The ancient of war. Veteran soldiers. 

36. Convenient. Becoming, proper. Cf. iv. 5. 31 above. 

37. / know the riddle. I understand your game ; you want to 
keep watch of me. 

44. Miscarry. See on 5 above. Here the meaning is plain 
from what follows. 

50. Overlook. Look over. See on i. 2. ^ above. 

53. Discovery. Reconnoitring. Cf. Macb. v. 4. 6. 

54. Greet the time. Meet the emergency. 

56. Jealous. Suspicious ; as in i. 4. 71 above. 

61. Carry out my side. Be a winner in the game. Cf. Cor. v. 
3. 13: "which side should win," etc. 

63. Countenance. Authority. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iv. 2. 13: "abuse 
the countenance of the king; " and just below (24) : "the counte- 
nance and the grace of heaven." 

65. Taking-off. Cf. Macb. i. 7. 20 : " his taking-off ." 

68. For my state, etc. For it concerns me to defend my state, 
etc. For stands upon, cf. Rich. II. ii. 3. 138, A. and C. ii. 1. 50, 
etc. Shall = they shall ; a " confusion of construction." 

Scene II. — 2. For your good host. That is, for your shelter. 
The tree is compared to a host, or one who takes us under his 
roof. 

5. Mr. Spedding would begin act v. here. See New Shaks. Soc. 
Transactions for 1877-1879, p. 15. 

11. Ripeness is all. Cf. Ham. v. 2. 232: "If it be now, 't is 
not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, 
yet it will come : the readiness is all." 

Scene III. — 3. Censure. Judge, pass sentence upon. See on 
iii. 5. 3 above. 

7. These daughters and these sisters. " A bitter sarcasm in 
simplest words, thoroughly characteristic in the woman of quiet 
expression with intense feeling" (Clarke). 



Scene in] Notes 277 

13. Gilded butterflies. "Gay courtiers" (Craig). Cf. Beau- 
mont and Fletcher, The Coronation, i. 1 : " The gay flies that buzz 
about the court." 

17. As if we were God's spies. "As if we were angels commis- 
sioned to survey and report the lives of men, and consequently en- 
dowed with the power of prying into the original motives of action 
and the mysteries of conduct " (Johnson). 

18. Packs. Combinations, coalitions. Cf. M. W. iv. 2. 123: 
" a knot, a ging, a pack, a conspiracy," etc. 

20-25. Upon such sacrifices, etc. Dr. Bucknill says : " This is 
not mania, but neither is it sound mind. It is the emotional excita- 
bility often seen in extreme age, as it is depicted in the early scenes 
of the drama, and it is precisely true to the probabilities of the 
mind's history that this should be the phase of infirmity displaying 
itself at this moment. Any other dramatist than S. would have 
represented the poor old king quite restored to the balance and 
control of his faculties. The complete efficiency of filial love would 
have been made to triumph over the laws of mental function. 
But S. has represented the exact degree of improvement which was 
probable under the circumstances, namely, restoration from the 
intellectual mania which resulted from the combined influence of 
physical and moral shock, with persistence of the emotional excite- 
ment and disturbance which is the incurable and unalterable result 
of passion exaggerated by long habitude and by the malign influence 
of extreme age." 

23. Like foxes. Alluding to the practice of smoking foxes out 
of their holes. Steevens cites Harrington's Ariosto : — 

" Ev'n as a Foxe, whom smoke and fire doth fright, 
So as he dare not in the ground remaine, 
Bolts out, and through both smoke and fires he flieth 
Into the Tariers mouth, and there he dieth." 

24. Good-years. An expression of doubtful origin (see the New 
Eng. Diet.'), which "came to be used in imprecatory phrases as 



278 Notes [Act v 

denoting some undefined malefic power or agency." The old 
explanation (making it = the pox) is pronounced " quite inad- 
missible." Flesh and fell = flesh and skin. For fell, cf. A. Y. L. 
iii. 2. 55 and Macb. v. 5. 2. 

28. This note. The warrant for the execution of Lear and 
Cordelia. 

33. Thy great employnient, etc. The important business intrusted 
to you does not admit of debate. Sword— soldier. 

36., Write happy. Count yourself lucky, congratulate yourself; 
perhaps a hint of reward. 

37. Carry it. Conduct the business, manage it. Cf. Much 
Ado, iv. 1. 212: "this well carried," etc. 

41. Strain. Race, lineage. Cf. J. C. v. 1. 39: "the noblest 
of thy strain," etc. 

43. Opposites. Opponents; as in Ham. v. 2. 62, etc. 

48. Retention. Confinement, custody. The words and ap- 
pointed guard axe omitted in the folios. 

50. The common bosom. The affection of the common people. 

51. Our impressed lances. The soldiers we have pressed into 
our service. Our eyes tvhich = the eyes of us who. Cf. " their 
greater pleasures . . . that " in 2 above. 

66. Immediacy. Being next in authority to me. Malone well 
compares Ham. i. 2. 109 : " most immediate to our throne." 

69. Your addition. The title you have given him. Cf. ii. 2. 25 
above. 

70. Compeers. Is the peer of, is equal with. The verb is 
not found elsewhere in S., and the noun occurs only in Sonn. 
86. 7. 

71. That were the most, etc. The quartos give this speech to 
Goneril. 

73. Looked but asquint. Steevens cites Ray, Proverbs : " Love 
being jealous makes a good eye look a-squint." 

74. I am not well. The poison which Goneril has given her 
(cf. 97 and 227 below) begins to work. 



Scene III] Notes 279 

75. Stomach. Wrath, passion. Cf. the quibble in T. G. of V. 

i. 2. 68 : — 

" I would it were, 
That you might kill your stomach on your meat, 
And not upon your maid." 

77. The walk are thine. It has been a matter of dispute 
whether this refers to Regan's castle (cf. 247 below), or whether 
it is used figuratively = " I surrender at discretion." The latter 
view seems the more probable. 

80. The let-alone, etc. " Whether he shall not or shall, depends 
not on your choice" (Johnson). 

84. On capital treason. Both on and of are used by S. with the 
cause of the arrest. Cf. Rich. II. iv. I. 151: "Of capital treason 
we arrest you here," etc. 

90. An interlude ! " Our play has plot within plot ! " (Moberly). 

98. What. Whoever. Cf. Hen. VIII. ii. 1. 65 and v. 3. 47: 
" Be what they will," etc. 

104. Virtue. Valour (the Latin virtus) ; as in Cor. i. I. 41: 
" even to the altitude of his virtue." 

108. Come hither, herald. For the formalities of the contest 
here, cf. Rich. II. i. 3. 

113. Supposed. Pretended. Cf. M. W. iv. 4. 61: "the sup- 
posed fairies." See also 3 Hen. VI. iii. 3. 223, iv. 1. 93, etc. 

120. What are you? Who are you? See on iii. 4. 126 above ; 
and cf. 125 and 166 below. 

125. Cope. For the transitive use, cf. A. Y. L. ii. 1. 67: "cope 
him in these sullen fits," etc. 

130. The privilege of mine honours. The right of my profession 
(as a knight) to draw my sword against a traitor. 

132. Maugre. In spite of. Cf. T. N. iii. I. 163, etc. 

133. Fire-new. Fresh from the mint. Cf. T. N. iii. 2. 23, etc. 
136. Conspirant. " Conspirer " (Mdcb. iv. 1. 91). Elsewhere 

S. uses conspirator. 

143. In wisdom, etc. Because if his adversary was not of equal 



2 8o Notes [Act v 

rank, he might have declined the combat. Hence the herald pro- 
claimed (in), "If any man of quality or degree," etc. (Malone). 
Cf. also 154 below. 

145. And that. And since that. Say = assay, taste, proof; 
alluding to the formality of giving the say at the royal table. See 
on i. 2. 42 above. 

146. What safe and nicely, etc. The delay which by the laws 
of knighthood I might properly and with due regard to punctilio 
make, I scorn to make. We may consider safe and nicely as an 
instance like "fresh and merrily" iny. C. ii. 1. 224 ; for, though 
S. sometimes uses safe adverbially, he has safely much oftener. 

149. Hell-hated. Abhorred like hell. Cf. " hell-black," iii. 7. 60 
above. 

150. Which. As to which. 

153. Save him, etc. "Albany desires that Edmund's life may 
be spared at present, only to obtain his confession, and to convict 
him openly by his own letter" (Johnson). For practice, see on 
i. 2. 180 above. 

157. Hold, sir. Addressed to Edmund. 

161. Of Omitted in the quartos ; but, as Furness notes, it is 
the groan that breaks from Albany at the revelation of his wife's 
abandoned effrontery, and is as needful to the character as it is to 
the rhythm. 

163. Govern. Restrain, control ; as often. 

167. This fortune on me. The luck to conquer me. 

170. The second more may be dissyllabic, as Abbott makes it. 

172. The gods, etc. Wordsworth quotes the Apocryphal Book 
of Wisdom, xi. 16 : "Wherewithal a man sinneth, by the same 
also shall he be punished." 

1 76. The wheel. That is, of fortune. Cf. ii. 2. 1 75 above. On 
the passage cf. J. C. v. 3. 25 : — 

" This day I breathed first : time is come round, 
And where I did begin there shall I end ; 
My life is run his compass." 



Scene III] Notes 281 

179. Split my heart. Cf. Rich. III. i. 3, 300 (see also v. 1. 26) : 
" When he shall split thy very heart with sorrow," etc. See also 
A. and C.v. I. 24. 

183. List. For the transitive use, cf. Hen. V. i. 1. 43, Ham. i. 
3. 30, etc. 

191. Rings. Sockets ; the case of iv. 6. 129 above. 

194. Fault. Furness thinks Delius is right in giving this the 
meaning of " misfortune ; " but possibly Edgar now blames him- 
self for not making himself known to his father sooner. 

196. Good success. Good result, or issue. See on i. 2. 140 
above. 

198. Flawed. Broken. Cf. ii. 4. 283 above. 

203. As. As if. See on iii. 4. 15 above, and cf. 215 below. 

204. More, more woful. Cf. K. John, iv. 2. 42 : " And more, 
more strong," etc. See also Cor. iv. 6. 63. 

205. Dissolve. Weep. Cf. Rich. II. iii. 2. 108 : " all dissolv'd 
to tears." 

207. But another, etc. " One more such circumstance only, by 
amplifying what is already too much, would add to it and so exceed 
what seemed to be the limit of sorrow." For this gerundial use of 
the infinitive, see iii. 5. 12 above. 

209. Top. See on i. 2. 16 above. 

210. Big. Loud. Cf. A. Y. L. ii. 7. 161 : " His big manly voice," 
etc. 

218. Puissant. Always a dissyllable in S. , but puissance is some- 
times a trisyllable. 

219. Began to crack. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 4. 365: "till heart- 
strings break." 

220. Tranc'd. As in a trance, apparently dead ; like entranced 
in Per. iii. 2. 94. 

222. Enemy king. Cf. Cor. iv. 14. 171 : "this enemy town," etc. 

224. What kind of help ? " I find something very expressive 
of the versatile and vigilant character of Edgar in this inquiry " 
(W, W. Lloyd). 



282 Notes [Act v 

236. Manners. S. makes the word either singular or plural, 
like news, tidings, etc. 

243. After. For the adverbial use, cf. Temp* ii. 2. 10, iii. 2. 
158, etc. 

247. My writ. Cf. 28 above. 

250. To who? Cf. Oth. i. 2. 52: "To who?" 7& iv. 2. 99: 
" With who ? " etc. See also on iv. 3. 8 above. 

253. Haste thee. Thee is apparently used for thou in this ex- 
pression (Abbott). 

257. Fordid. Destroyed. Cf. Ham. ii. 1. 103, v. 1. 244, etc. 
See also 293 below. 

264. Stone. Apparently = crystal, or polished stone. 

265. The promised end. The predicted doomsday. On the next 
line, cf. Macb. ii. 3. 83 : " The great doom's image." 

266. Fall and cease ! " Fall, heavens, and let all things cease ! " 
(Cap ell). Delius takes fall and cease as nouns in apposition with 
horror, which had occurred to me as a possible interpretation. 
Moberly and Schmidt also adopt this view. For cease as a noun, 
cf. Ham. iii. 3. 15: "cease of majesty." For other explanations 
of this perplexing little speech, see Furness. 

267. This feather stirs ! Cf. 2 Hen. IV. iv. 5.31: — 

" By his gates of breath 
There lies a downy feather which stirs not. 
Did he suspire, that light and weightless down 
Perforce must move." 

272. I might have sav^d her. They have distracted his attention 
for a moment, or he might have saved his child. 

274. Her voice, etc. "This wonderfully quiet touch seems to 
complete the perfection of Cordelia's character, evidently the poet's 
best -loved creation, his type of the ideal Englishwoman. Her voice 
was the outward signature of her graciously tempered nature. 
Burke's description of his wife is a master's variation on Shake- 
speare's theme: 'Her eyes have a mild light, but they awe you 



Scene III] Notes 283 

when she pleases ; they command, like a good man out of office, 
not by authority, but by virtue. Her smiles are inexpressible. 
Her voice is a soft, low music, not formed to rule in public assem- 
blies, but to charm those who can distinguish a company from a 
crowd. It has this advantage, you must be close to her to hear 
it'" (Moberly). 

278. Biting falchion. Cf. M. W.\\. I. 136: " I have a sword, 
and it shall bite upon my necessity." 

279. Made them skip. Cf. M. W. ii. 1. 236: "I have seen the 
time, with my long sword I would have made you four tall fellows 
skip like rats." 

286. He 's a good fellow, etc. Lear's mind is wandering again. 
290. Your first of difference. " Your first turn of fortune " 
(Schmidt). Cf. Macb. v. 2. 11 : "their first of manhood." 

292. Nor no man else. " Welcome, alas ! here 's no welcome 
for me or any one " (Capell). 

293. Fordone. See on 257 above. 

294. Desperately. In desperation. 

299. Decay. Capell and Steevens refer this to Lear (="this 
piece of decayed royalty, this ruined majesty ") ; but Delius and 
Furness are probably right in taking it as — " the collective mis- 
fortunes which this scene reveals." 

303. Boot. More than that. Cf. iv. 6. 209 above. 

306. 0, see, see ! These words are occasioned by seeing Lear 
again embrace the body of Cordelia (Capell). 

307. My poor fool. Cordelia; not his Fool, as some have thought. 
For poor fool as a term of endearment, cf. W. T. ii. I. 118, etc. 
Furness gives nearly three pages of notes on the passage, at the 
end of which he says : " Very reluctantly I have come to the con- 
viction that this refers to Cordelia." I sympathize fully with his 
regret that it cannot be referred to Lear's " poor fool and knave " 
(iii. 2. 67), but to my mind the context settles the question beyond 
a doubt. There is no room for a divided sorrow here; Lear's 
thoughts can never wander more from his dead daughter. 



284 Notes [Act v 

311. Pray you, undo this button. The Quarterly Review (April, 
1833) remarks: "The intense excitement which Lear had under- 
gone, and which lent for a time a supposititious life to his enfeebled 
frame, gives place to the exhaustion of despair. But even here, 
where any other mind would have confined itself to the single 
passion of parental despair, S. contrives to indicate by a gesture 
the very train of internal physical changes which are causing death. 
The blood gathering about the heart can no longer be propelled 
by its enfeebled impulse. Lear, too weak to relieve the impedi- 
ments of his dress, which he imagines cause the sense of suffocation, 
asks a by-stander to ' undo this button. ' " 

315. Pass. See on iv. 6. 47 above, 

316. Tough. The epithet seems to be suggested by the unyield- 
ing force of the rack. 

322. Sustain. As Jennens remarks, " the play would best end 
here." 

323. A journey. That is, to another world. 

324. Master. " Lear. It would be hard to find in S. a refer- 
ence to God as master'''' (Schmidt). 

325. The weight, etc. The folios and some modern eds. (per- 
haps rightly) give this speech to Edgar. Schmidt thinks that the 
first two lines may belong to Edgar, and the last two to Albany. 

327, 328. The oldest, etc. " Age and fulness of sorrows have 
been the same thing to the unhappy Lear; his life has been pro- 
longed into times so dark in their misery and so fierce in their 
unparalleled ingratitude and reckless passion, that even if we live 
as long as he has (which will hardly be), our existence will never 
light on days as evil as those which he has seen " (Moberly). 



APPENDIX 



Lear's Insanity 

Whether Lear is insane at the beginning of the play is a question 
(incidentally referred to in the notes above) which has been much 
discussed. Coleridge believed that the method by which the old 
king tests the affection of his daughters is only " a trick ; " and 
that "the grossness of his rage is in part the natural result of a 
silly trick suddenly and most unexpectedly baffled and disap- 
pointed." Others have thought it simply a proof that the old man 
is in his dotage, though not verging upon insanity ; but several 
eminent alienists agree in the opinion that the mind of the aged 
monarch is already unbalanced. 

Dr. Amariah Brigham (" Shakespeare's Illustrations of Insanity," 
in Amer. Jour, of Insanity, July, 1844) says: "Lear's is a 
genuine case of insanity from the beginning to the end ; such as 
we often see in aged persons. On reading it we cannot divest our- 
selves of the idea that it is a real case of insanity correctly reported. 
Still, we apprehend, the play, or case, is generally misunderstood. 
The general belief is, that the insanity of Lear originated solely 
from the ill-treatment of his daughters, while in truth he was in- 
sane before that, from the beginning of the play, when he gave his 
kingdom away, and banished, as it were, Cordelia and Kent, and 
abused his servants. The ill-usage of his daughters only aggravated 
the disease, and drove him to raving madness. Had it been other- 
wise, the case, as one of insanity, would have been inconsistent 
and very unusual. Shakespeare and Walter Scott prepare those 
whom they represent as insane, by education and other circum- 

285 



286 Appendix 

stances, for the disease, — they predispose them to insanity, and 
thus its outbreak is not unnatural. In the case of Lear the insanity 
is so evident before he received any abuse from his daughters that, 
professionally speaking, a feeling of regret arises that he was not so 
considered and so treated. He was unquestionably very trouble- 
some, and by his ' new pranks,' as his daughter calls them, and rash 
and variable conduct, caused his children much trouble, and intro- 
duced much discord into their households. In fact, a little feeling 
of commiseration for his daughters at first arises in our minds from 
these circumstances, though to be sure they form no excuse for their 
subsequent bad conduct. Let it be remembered they exhibited no 
marked disposition to ill-treat or neglect him until after the con- 
duct of himself and his knights had become outrageous. Then 
they at first reproved him, or rather asked him to change his course 
in a mild manner. . . . This, however, caused an unnatural and 
violent burst of rage, but did not originate his insanity, for he had 
already exhibited symptoms of it, and it would have progressed 
naturally even if he had not been thus addressed. 

" Lear is not after this represented as constantly deranged. Like 
most persons affected by this kind of insanity, he at times converses 
rationally. 

" In the storm-scene he becomes violently enraged, exhibiting 
what may be seen daily in a mad-house, a paroxysm of rage and 
violence. It is not until he has seen and conversed with Edgar, 
'the philosopher and learned Theban,' as he calls him, that he 
becomes a real maniac. After this, aided by a proper course of 
treatment, he falls asleep, and sleep, as in all similar cases, partially 
restores him. But the violence of his disease and his sufferings are 
too great for his feeble system, and he dies, and dies deranged. 
The whole case is instructive, not as an interesting story merely, 
but as a faithful history of a case of senile insanity, or the insanity 
of old age." 

Dr. Isaac Ray, another expert in insanity (Amer. Jour, of 
Insanity, April, 1847), recognizes in Lear " a strong predisposition 



Appendix 287 

to insanity, which, if it had not been developed by the approach of 
old age or the conduct of his daughters, would have been by some- 
thing else." His conduct in the first scene " indicates an ill- 
balanced mind, if not the actual invasion of disease." Dr. Ray 
adds : " The development of the early stage of Lear's insanity, or 
its incubation, as it is technically called, is managed with masterly 
skill, the more surprising as it is that stage of the disease which 
attracts the least attention. And the reason is that the derange- 
ment is evinced, not so much by delusions or gross improprieties 
of conduct, as by a mere exaggeration of natural peculiarities, by 
inconsistencies of behaviour, by certain acts for which very plausible 
reasons are assigned, though they would never have been performed 
in a perfectly sound state of mind, by gusts of passion at every 
trifling provocation, or by doing very proper things at unseasonable 
times and occasions. With his own free will and accord he gives 
away his kingdom, but finds it difficult to sink the monarch in 
the private citizen. He attaches to his person a band of riotous 
retainers, whose loose and lawless behaviour is destructive to the 
peace and good order of his daughter's household. . . . Under 
such an infliction it is not strange that she should remonstrate, and, 
had not the divine light already begun to flicker, he would have 
acknowledged the justice of the reproof. As it is, however, instead 
of admitting some share of the fault, he attributes the whole of it 
to her, flies into a passion, pours upon her head the bitterest curses, 
upbraids her with the vilest ingratitude, and forthwith proclaims 
his wrongs to the public ear. . . . Another lifelike touch is given 
to the picture in Lear's attributing all his troubles to filial ingrati- 
tude, not being aware, of course, that he was on the high road to 
insanity long before he had any reason to doubt their kindness. 
In fact, nothing is more common than for the patient, when telling 
his story, to fix upon some event, and especially some act of his 
friends, as the cause of his troubles, which occurred long sub- 
sequently to the real origin of his disorder, and might have had 
but an accidental connection with it." 



288 Appendix 

'' Dr. J. C. Bucknill {The Mad Folk of Shakespeare, 1867) takes 
similar ground. He is severe upon the critics for " refusing to see 
the symptoms of insanity in Lear until the reasoning power itself has 
become undeniably alienated." They " have completely over- 
looked the early symptoms of his insanity, and, according to the 
custom of the world, have postponed its recognition until he is 
running about a frantic raving madman." 

I am inclined to adopt this opinion of professional judges of 
insanity, not only because they are so much better acquainted with 
the subject than I can pretend to be, but also because it perfectly 
clears up the difficulties of the opening scene of the play. We 
must say, it seems to me, either that Lear's mind is enfeebled by 
age and he has lapsed into second childhood, or that he is begin- 
ning to show symptoms of the insanity which subsequently mani- 
fests itself past a doubt. This latter explanation is, on the whole, 
the more natural and probable. If he were in his dotage, we 
should not look for the occasional evidences of sound judgment 
that afterward appear ; but these, as Dr. Brigham has said, are 
not unusual in the insane. They are more likely to appear in a mind 
that is deranged than in one that is hopelessly weakened by age. 

It is an interesting fact that the first writer to call attention to 
the evidences of Lear's incipient insanity at the opening of the 
play was a woman ; and that this woman was the author of the 
first critical work on Shakespeare from an American pen. This 
work, entitled Shakespeare Illustrated, was in three volumes, pub- 
lished in 1753— 1754. The dedication to the Earl of Orrery was 
written by Dr. Johnson, the lady, Mrs. Charlotte Lennox, being 
then a resident of London, as she had been from the age of fif- 
teen, though born in New York, of which city her father, Colonel 
James Ramsay, was lieutenant-governor. Besides her work on 
Shakespeare, she wrote plays, novels, biographies, and translations 
from the French. 

The authorities on Lear's insanity from whom I have quoted also 
tell us that Edgar's madness is as clearly a sham as that of Lear is a 



Appendix 289 

reality. Edgar imposes upon those about him, as he might deceive 
most persons ; but Dr. Brigham or Dr. Ray or Dr Bucknill would 
soon detect the simulation, as they and other experts have done in 
hundreds of cases of assumed insanity. They soon see the method 
in the madness, however shrewdly it may be disguised. How mar- 
vellous the knowledge of the human mind which enabled Shake- 
speare to delineate not only its natural workings in almost every 
conceivable type of man or woman, but also to discriminate thus 
nicely between its morbid action and the imitation of such action ! 

It was the same wonderful insight into our mental nature in its 
diseased conditions that enabled him to see what even the medical 
men of his age, as of all earlier time, had failed to discern, that 
is, the proper treatment of insanity. A passage in As You Like It 
(iii. 2. 421) epitomizes the wisdom of the olden time on this sub- 
ject in a single sentence : " Love is merely a madness, and, I tell 
you, deserves as well a dark house and a whip as madmen do." A 
dark house and a whip ! This was the usual treatment of lunatics 
until long after the time of Shakespeare — indeed, almost down to 
our own day ; and the barbarous practice still lingers in the man- 
agement of a certain class of cases in some asylums. Dr. Brown, 
a high authority of less than a century ago, seriously maintained 
that " the patient ought to be struck with fear and terror, and 
driven in his state of insanity to despair ; as a remedy against 
over muscular excitement the labour of draught cattle should be 
imposed on him ; the diet should be the poorest possible, and his 
drink only water." Compare this with the treatment of poor mad 
Lear in the last scene of act iv., and note Dr. Brigham's com- 
ments upon it (see on iv. 7. 82 above). 



Cordelia: her Character and her Fate 

Lear, in his best days, must have been every inch a king, but one 
only fitted to be an absolute monarch. His preeminent trait is a 

KING LEAR — 19 



290 Appendix 

strong will that can tolerate no limitations or restraints. In his old 
age, and with the shadow of insanity already resting upon him, this 
wilfulness becomes a blind, unreasoning arrogance and obstinacy 
which in the end proves his destruction. His daughters are all as 
wilful as he is, for Cordelia is no exception. Goneril and Regan 
are depraved by nature, and their self-will works itself out in filial 
ingratitude, conjugal infidelity, and reckless criminality. They let 
nothing stand in the way of their evil desires and purposes. Goneril 
poisons her sister to remove an obstacle from her path, and when 
detected and exposed destroys herself — wilful and defiant to the 
last. 

Cordelia, with all her virtues, is as wilful as her bad sisters, and 
this is her ruin no less than their obstinacy in wickedness is theirs. 
By how slight a concession to her father's persistent demand for 
some stronger assurance of her love might she have saved herself 
from banishment and him from all the woes that his misunderstand- 
ing of her reticence brings upon him and upon her ! But she has 
resolved to say "Nothing" in reply to his question: — 

" What can you say to draw 
A third more opulent than your sisters? " 

and "Nothing" is the utmost that she will say. Lear loves her 
and pleads with her : " Nothing will come of nothing ; speak 
again; " but her only answer is : — 

" Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave 
My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty 
According to my bond, no more nor less." 

But the cannot is simply will not; and how exasperatingly cold and 
formal the whole speech is ! "I love your majesty according to my 
bond,'" and according to the strict letter of the bond, " no more nor 
less." Shylock's insistence upon the literal interpretation of his bond 
is not more unfeeling or inexorable. Contrast it with the tender- 
ness of the king's preface to the appeal which has provoked her — 



Appendix 291 

though her sisters' effusive professions of affection have been the 
first cause — to this cold and repellent demeanour: — 

" Now, our joy, 
Although our last and least, to whose young love 
The vines of France and milk of Burgundy 
Strive to be interess'd, what can you say," etc. 

What yearning of paternal fondness, inviting, almost entreating, 
some reciprocal expression of filial love from her ! He has ad- 
dressed no such tender words to Goneril and Regan — mere com- 
monplaces of courtesy in contrast to that spontaneous outburst of 
fatherly affection for his "joy," his " last and least," his pet Cordelia. 

Mrs. Jameson, who dwells enthusiastically on the beauty of the s 
character, says : " If Cordelia were not thus portrayed, this deliber- 
ate coldness would strike us verging on harshness or obstinacy." I 
think it must so strike us, charming as she otherwise is, but we 
judge the fault as gently as we can. We try to regard it as partially 
due to the fact that she had already begun to look with favour 
upon the King of France, who had long been one of her suitors. 
This new affection, which we may imagine to have been less exact- 
ing and unreasonable than her poor old father's, had already won 
that half of her love to which she refers when she says : — 

" Why have my sisters husbands, if they say 
They love you all ? Haply, when I shall wed, 
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry 
Half my love with him, half my care and duty. 
Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters, 
To love my father all." 

Well said, indeed, but not wisely just then ! It was a pity that 
one who was so sparing of speech should say what could only add 
to her father's irritation instead of the loving conciliatory words 
that would have set all right again. 

But when we reflect that Shakespeare did not choose his inci- 
dents, but was simply dramatizing an old and familiar story, we 



292 Appendix 

cannot but admire the skill with which he manages this troublesome 
point. It is necessary that Cordelia shall offend her father and be 
disinherited. At the same time, she must not do it in such a way as 
to forfeit our sympathy and appear to deserve the severe judgment 
of her father. Shakespeare therefore makes her behaviour the nat- 
ural result of her temperament and the position in which she is 
placed ; and we feel that she is lovely and loving even when she 
allows herself to seem cold and " untender." 

Though the delineation of Cordelia is so distinct and complete, 
it is remarkable that she has so little to say in the course of the 
drama. After the few sentences she speaks in the first scene, she 
disappears from the stage until nearly the close of the fourth act, 
and in the remainder of the play her speeches are few and brief. 
Counting half-lines and less as whole lines, she has but 46 lines in 
the first scene and 69 more in the latter scenes — 115 in all out of 
3336 lines, or little more than 3 per cent of the whole, to state it 
mathematically. Was ever a prominent character painted with so 
few strokes, and yet so vividly and so perfectly? Could any one 
but Shakespeare have done it? 

But why must Cordelia die? "This veiled angelic form with the 
tender beauty of her loving, maidenly soul, and yet so manly in her 
resolution and self-reliance, with her deep, peaceful heart which is 
so strong and pure in feeling, with her silent love and self-denial, 
with her heroic loyalty — does her death not seem like that of an 
innocent victim, and, though not without a motive, does it not 
appear unreasonable and devoid of all internal necessity?" Ulrici, 
who asks this question, replies to it thus : " She is as well aware 
of the violence, the impetuosity, and domineering spirit of her father 
as Goneril is ; and yet she continues — regardless of his repeated 
entreaties to consider what she is saying — to reply in her obviously 
offensive and provoking manner, and finally to give an explanation 
which could only irritate him even more, as it contained a distinct 
reproach against himself and his demands. What she must have 
expected, must have foreseen, occurs: Lear bursts out into a fit of 



Appendix 293 



rage; she does nothing to check or calm it, but lets its full force fall 
upon her. She thus draws upon her own head a share of the great 
misery which must follow her disinheritance ; nay, to a certain extent 
she is chiefly to blame for the whole of the terrible catastrophe; it 
could not have happened had she not been disinherited and ban- 
ished. By her own fault, therefore, she has become entangled in 
the tragic fate which is hanging over her father's house ; she hei- 
self called it forth, and has also to fall with it. Her transgression, 
when compared with the crimes of those around her, does indeed 
appear next to nothing; and she has atoned for it by the love and 
devotion with which she hastens to the assistance of her aged father, 
and by which she saves, tends, and cures him. But it was she who 
unfettered the power of evil, and consequently she too is involved in 
the general destruction." In the words of another critic : " Does 
not the rain fall on the just and the unjust? Yes; and so does the 
rain of ruin. The whirlwind, when once it rages, does not pick 
and choose its victims. Goneril's spite will not spare Cordelia when 
once it has a chance of venting itself upon her; the chance comes, 
and it does not spare her. Let Lear bemoan his folly as he may, 
yet, alas ! alas ! he cannot cancel it ! " 

But throughout the play, " amidst the continual disorder and* 
confusion in the natural and the moral world," we feel " a con- 
tinual consciousness of eternal order, law, and good. The feeling 
of the play, to those who rightly consider it, is high and calm; " 
for the final impression it makes upon us is that of the ultimate 
triumph of good over evil — the eternal truth that God is in heaven, 
and that in the end all will be well — there, if not here on earth. 



Tate's Version of the Play 

In 1 68 1 Nahum Tate brought out a version of Lear, in which — 
to say nothing of minor changes — the ending of the play was 



/ 



294 Appendix 

made a happy instead of a tragic one. Neither Lear nor Cordelia 
dies, and the latter marries Edgar. This was the Lear " which held 
the stage for a hundred and sixty years, and in which all our great- 
est actors, Garrick, Kemble, Kean, and others, won applause," and 
which was discarded only about fifty years ago. Verplanck consid- 
ers that Charles Lamb has hit the reason of this : " If he is right, 
then the real secret of the prolonged popularity of Tate's distortion 
of King Lear is to be found in the fact that the grand and terrible 
passion of the original is too purely spiritual for mere dramatic ex- 
hibition, because it belongs to that highest region of intellectual 
poetry which can be reached only by the imagination, warmed and 
raised by its own workings; while, on the contrary, it becomes 
chilled and crippled by attention to material and external imita- 
tion." Lamb says: — 

"The Lear of Shakespeare cannot be acted. The contemptible 
machinery by which they mimic the storm which he goes out in is 
not more inadequate to represent the horrors of the real elements 
than any actor can be to represent Lear; they might more easily 
propose to personate the Satan of Milton upon a stage, or one of 
Michael Angelo's terrible figures. The greatness of Lear is not in 
corporal dimension, but in intellectual; the explosions of his pas- 
sion are terrible as a volcano; they are storms turning up and dis- 
closing to the bottom that sea, his mind, with all its vast riches. It 
is his mind which is laid bare. This case of flesh and blood seems 
too insignificant to be thought on, even as he himself neglects it. 
On the stage we see nothing but corporal infirmities and weakness, 
the impotence of rage; while we read it, we see not Lear, but we 
are Lear, — we are in his mind, we are sustained by a grandeur 
which baffles the malice of daughters and storms; in the aberra- 
tions of his reason, we discover a mighty irregular power of reason- 
ing, immethodized from the ordinary purposes of life, but exerting 
its powers, as the wind blows where it listeth, at will upon the cor- 
ruptions and abuses of mankind. What have looks or tones to do 
with that sublime identification of his age with that of the heavens 



Appendix 295 

themselves, when, in his reproaches to them for conniving at the in- 
justice of his children, he reminds them that ' they themselves are 
old'? What gesture shall we appropriate to this? What has the 
voice or the eye to do with such things ? But the play is beyond all 
art, as the tamperings with it show; it is too hard and stony; it 
must have love scenes and a happy ending, It is not enough that 
Cordelia is a daughter, she must shine as a lover too. Tate has put 
his hook in the nostrils of this Leviathan, for Garrick and his fol- 
lowers, the showmen of the scene, to draw the mighty beast about 
more easily. A happy ending ! — as if the living martyrdom that 
Lear had gone through — the flaying of his feelings alive — did 
not make a fair dismissal from the stage of life the only decorous 
thing for him. If he is to live and be happy after, if he could sus- 
tain this world's burden after, why all this pudder and preparation 
— why torment us with all this unnecessary sympathy? As if the 
childish pleasure of getting his gilt robes and sceptre again could 
tempt him to act over again his misused station; as if, at his years 
and with his experience, anything was left but to die." 



The Time-Analysis of the Play 

This is summed up by Mr. P. A. Daniel, in his paper " On the 
Times or Durations of the Action of Shakspere's Plays" {Trans- 
actions of New Shakspere Society, 1 877-1 879, p. 220) as follows : — 

"Day 1. Act I. sc. i. 
" 2. Act I. sc. ii. 

An Interval of something less than a fortnight. 
" 3. Act I. sc. iii. iv. and v. 
" 4. Act II. sc. i. and ii. 

" 5. Act II. sc. iii. and iv. ; Act III. sc. i.-vi. 
" 6. Act III. sc. vii. ; Act IV." sc. i. 
" 7. Act IV. sc. ii. 

Perhaps an Interval of a day or two. 



296 Appendix 

Day 8. Act IV. sc. iii. 
" 9. Act IV. sc. iv. v. and vi. 
" 10. Act IV. sc. vii. ; Act V. sc. i.-iii." 



List of Characters in the Play 

The numbers in parentheses indicate the lines the characters 
have in each scene 

Lear: i. 1(122), 4(131), 5(22) ; ii. 4(161); iii. 2(43), 4(68), 
6(31) ; iv. 6(106), 7(32) ; v. 3(54). Whole no. 770. 
King of France : i. 1(32). Whole no. 32. 
Burgundy : i. 1(12). Whole no. 12. 

Cornwall: i. 1(1) ; ii. 1(14), 2(32), 4(12) ; iii. 5(12), 7(38). 
Whole no. 109. 

Albany: i. 1(1), 4(11); iv. 2(43); v. 1(14), 3(87). Whole 
no. 156. 

Kent: i. 1(44), 4(37), 5(2); ii. 2(104), 4(32); iii. i(40> 

2(17), 4(18). 6(15) ; iv. 3(29), 7(16) ; v. 3(24). Whole no. 379. 

Gloster: i. 1(25), 2(61); ii. 1(30), 2(15), 4(12); iii. 3(20), 

4(23), 6(15), 7(33) ; iv. 1(44), 6(63) ; v. 2(3). Whole no. 344. 

Edgar: i. 2(11) ; ii. 1(1), 3(21) ; iii. 4(74), 6(47) ; iv. 1(33), 

6(119) ; v. 1(12), 2(10), 3(78). Whole no. 406. 

Edmund: i. 1(3), 2(128); ii. 1(63), 2(1); iii. 3(6), 5(14) ; 
iv. 2(1); v. 1(31), 3(7 6 )- Whole no. 323. 
Cur an : ii. 1(11). Whole no. 11. 

Oswald: i. 3(3), 4(6) ; ii. 2(27) ; iii. 7(6) ; iv. 2(10), 5(12), 
6(16). Whole no. 80. 

Old Man : iv. 1(12). Whole no. 12. 
Doctor : iv 4(5), 7(13). Whole no. 18. 

Fool: i. 4(109), 5(31); ii. 4(43) ; *«• 2(40), 4(13)* 6(16). 
Whole no. 252. 



Appendix 297 

Captain: v. 3(6). Whole no. 6. 

Gentleman: i. 5(1); ii. 4(5); iii. 1(17); iv. 3(34), 6(16), 
7(9) J v. 3(5). Whole no. 87. 

Herald : v. 3(10). Whole no. 10. 

1st Servant: iii. 7(9). Whole no. 9. 

2d Servant: iii. 7(5). Whole no. 5. 

^d Servant : iii. 7(5). Whole no. 5. 

Knight : i. 4(16). Whole no. 16. 

Messenger : ivl 2(17), 4(2). Whole no. 19. 

Goneril: i. 1(31), 3(25), 4(66) ; ii. 4(15) ; iii. 7(2) ; iv. 2(39); 
v « I (7)? SC 1 ^)' Whole no. 201. 

Regan: i. 1(17) ; ii. 1(23), 2(8), 4(59) ; iii. 7(19) ; iv. 5(33) ; 
v. 1(14), 3(18). Whole no. 191. 

Cordelia: i. 1(46) ; iv. (24), 7(40) ; v. 3(5). Whole no. 1 15. 

In the above enumeration, parts of lines are counted as whole 
lines, making the total in the play greater than it is. The actual 
number in each scene is as follows : i. 1(312), 2(200), 3(17), 
4(370. 5(5 6 ); "• i(*3i)» 2(180), 3(21), 4(312); iii. 1(55), 
2(97). 3(26), 4(189), 5( 2 6), 6(122), 7(108); iv. 1(82), 2(98), 
3(57), 4(29), 5(4o), 6(293), 7(98); v. 1(69), 2(11), 3(326). 
Whole no. in the play, 3336. 



INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES 
EXPLAINED 



abated (= deprived) ? 230 

able (verb), 268 

abuse (= deceive) , 254, 

273. 274 
accent (= speech) , 222 
accommodate, 266 
according to my bond, 183 
action-taking, 218 
addition, 185, 218, 278 
address toward, 188 
admiration, 207 
advise yourself, 213 
affected, 178 
affliction, 237 
after (adverb) , 282 
aged (metre), 263 
a-height, 266 

aidant and remediate, 263 
Albany, 178 
all (adverbial), 183 
all cruels else subscribe, 

252 
allay (intransitive), 198 
allow (= approve of ) , 231 
allowance, 206 
allows itself to, 253 
am bethought, 224 
ancient (= aged), 219 
ancient of war, 276 
angering, 254 
anguish, 263 
answer (= answer for) , 

187, 223 
answer (noun), 256 
approve (= prove), 223, 

231, 246 
arbitrement, 274 
arch (= master), 214 
are you there with me ? 

268 
argument (= theme), 189 
aroint thee, 243 
art (= alchemy) , 238 



as (= as if), 221, 239, 281 
as (omitted), 199, 226, 

233, 235 
as far as we call hers, 275 
aspect, 222 
a-squint, 278 
at each, 265 
at Fortune's alms, 191 
at legs, 226 
attempting, 222 
at point, 210, 235 
at task, 210 
attend dispatch, 216 
attend my taking, 224 
a-twain, 220 
authorities, 198 
avert (= turn), 188 
ay and no too, 267 

ballow, 270 
balmed, 249 
bandy, 200, 231 
bans (= curses), 225 
barber-monger, 218 
battles (= battalions) , 237 
bearing (= suffering) , 250 
Bedlam (= lunatic), 253 
Bedlam beggars, 225 
belike, 263 
be-met, 275 
bench (verb), 247 
bending to, 259 
benison, 190 
besort, 208 
best alarumed, 214 
best of our times, 193 
bestowed (= lodged) , 233, 

272 
better-spoken, 264 
better way, a, 260 
beweep, 209 
bewray, 216, 250 
bias of nature, 195 

299 



biding (= abode) , 270 

big (=loud), 281 

biting falchion, 283 

blank, 187 

block (of hat), 268 

blood (= nature) , 246 

blood (= passion), 258 

blown (= inflated), 263 

boil (spelling), 232 

bolds (verb), 275 

boot, 270, 283 

bosomed, 275 

bosoms (=love), 191,264 

both, 179 

bourn, 266 

brach, 203, 248 

brains (number), 211 

brazed, 179 

bring away, 223 

brown bills, 266 

buoyed, 251 

burdocks, 261 

businesses, 215 

buzz (= whisper), 210 

by word, 263 

cackling, 221 

cadent, 209 

Camelot, 221 

can, 262 

capable, 216 

carbonado, 218 

carry (= sustain), 237 

carry it, 278 

carry out my side, 276 

case (= socket) , 268 

cat (= civet cat) , 242, 267 

catch cold, 203 

cease (noun), 282 

censured (= judged), 246, 

276 
century, 262 
challenge, 179 



300 Index of Words and Phrases 



champaigns, 180 

character, 194, 215 

charge (= expense), 232 

che vor ye, 270 

check (= rebuke), 223 

child-changed, 272 

Child Rowland, 245 

childed, 250 

chill (provincial), 270 

choice and rarest, 208 

choughs, 264 

civet, 267 

clamour-moistened, 260 

clearest, 266 

closet (= chamber) , 193 

clothier's yard, 266 

clotpoll, 199 

clout, 267 

cock (= cockboat) , 265 

cockney, 228 

cocks (= weathercocks) , 

236 
cold'st, 190 

colour (= nature), 223 
come your ways, 218 
comfortable (active) , 209, 

223 
comforting, 246 
commend (= deliver) , 226 
commit, 241 
commodities, 254 
common bosom, 278 
compact, 210 
compact (= compacted) , 

192, 222 
compeers (verb), 278 
conceit, 265 
conceive, 256 
concluded all, 273 
conditions (= temper), 260 
confine (accent) , 229 
confined to exhibition, 193 
conjunct, 275 
consort (= company), 216 
conspirant, 279 
constant (== settled), 275 
constrains the garb, 221 
continents, 238 
convenience (metre) , 250 
convenient, 276 
converse, 199 
convey, 194 
cope (transitive), 279 
corky, 257 
costard, 270 
countenance, 276 



course (in bear-baiting), 

251 
court holy-water, 236 
cowish, 256 
coxcomb, 202 
crab (= crab apple), 211 
craves (= demands), 217 
crow-keeper, 266 
cruel (play upon) , 226 
cruels, 252 
cry grace, 238 
cry sleep to death, 228 
cry you mercy, 238, 248 
cub-drawn, 234 
cuckoo-flowers, 262 
cue, 197 
cullionly, 218 
curiosity, 178, 192, 200 
curious (= elegant), 199 
curled hair, 241 
curst, 214 
cut to the brains, 269 

darker (= more secret) , 

179 
darkling, 207 
darnel, 262 
daub it, 254 
dawning, 217 
deadly use, 256 
dear, 188, 209, 261 
dearn, 252 
death-practised, 271 
deathsman, 271 
deboshed, 208 
decay, 283 
declined, 194 
deer (= game) , 244 
deficient (= defective) , 265 
dejected thing of fortune, 

253 
demand (= inquire), 238 
deny (= refuse), 227 
depend (= be dependent), 

208 
deprive, 192 
derogate (= degraded) , 

209 
descry (noun), 270 
desperately, 283 
detested, 194, 208 
diffidences, 197 
diffuse, 199 
digest (= enjoy), 185 
disasters, 196 
disbranch, 256 



disclaims in, 219 
discommend, 222 
discovery, 276 
diseases, 187 
dismantle, 189 
disnatured, 209 
dispatch, 214 
display (intransitive), 227 
dispositions, 207, 209 
disquantity, 208 
disquietly, 196 
dissipation of cohorts, 198 
dissolve (= weep), 281 
distaste (verb), 198 
distract (= distracted), 27 
ditch-dog, 243 
do a courtesy to, 251 
do de, do de, do de, 240 
do respect, 222 
dog-hearted, 261 
dolours (play upon), 227 
Dolphin my boy, 242 
doubted (=suspected), 275 
doubtful (= suspicious) , 

275 
dullard, 215 
dunghill (personal), 270 

ear-kissing, 212 
earnest (noun), 201 
easy-borrowed, 231 
eat no fish, to, 199 
effects, 185 
elbows (verb), 261 
elf (verb), 225 
embossed, 232 
engine (= rack) , 208 
enguard, 210 
enormous, 224 
enridged, 266 
entertain, 248 
entire point, 190 
epileptic, 221 
esperance, 253 
essay or taste, 193 
even (verb), 274 
exhibition, 193 
expense, 216 
eyeless, 234 

fa, sol, la, mi, 197 

faint, 200 

faithed, 215 

fall (transitive ?) , 230 

fall and cease, 282 

fallen into taint, 189 



Index of Words and Phrases 301 



fast (= fixed), 179 
fastened (= confirmed), 

father (= old man), 271 

fathered, 250 

fathom (plural), 265 

fault, 281 

favours (= features), 251 

fear (= cause to fear), 246 

fear (= fear for), 256, 275 

feature (= figure), 258 

feel (= test), 194 

feeling = (heartfelt), 270 

feelingly, 268 

feet (= footing), 235 

felicitate, 181 

fell (= fallen), 265 

festinate, 250 

fetches, 227 

filths, 256 

fire (dissyllable), 237 

fire-new, 279 

first of difference, 283 

five wits, 240, 248 

flawed, 279, 281 

flaws, 233 

flax and whites of eggs, 

253 
flesh (verb), 219 
flesh and fell, 278 
fleshment, 222 
Flibbertigibbet, 243, 254 
foins, 271 

fond (= foolish), 193, 209 
foot-ball player, 200 
footed, 239, 251 
foppery, 195 
foppish (= foolish) , 204 
for (= because), 189 
for his particular, 234 
for that, 192 
forbid thee, 239 
fordid, 282 
fordone, 283 
forfended, 275 
fork (= arrow-head), 186 
four- inched bridges, 240 
Frateretto, 246 
fraught, 207 
free (= sound) , 266 
from (= away from), 216 
frontlet, 205 
fruitfully, 271 
full (adverbial), 210 
fumiter, 261 
furnishings, 235 



gad> 193 

gait (= way), 270 

gallow, 237 

garb, 221 

gasted, 214 

generation (= progeny), 

184 
generous, 192 
germens, 236 
get (= beget), 215 
gilded butterflies, 277 
give you good morrow ! 

223 
Gloster (city), 211 
Gloster (spelling), 178 
gloves in my cap, 241 
God's spies, 277 
goodman boy, 219 
good-years, 277 
govern, 280 
graced, 208 
gracious my lord, 238 
greet the time, 276 
gross (= big) , 264 
grossly (= palpably), 191 

had rather, 275 

had thought to have 

found, 206 
halcyon, 220 
handy-dandy, 268 
happy (= lucky) , 224 
harms, 198, 210 
hatch (= half-door), 248 
head-lugged, 257 
heady, 228 
heart-strook, 235 
Hecate (dissyllable), 184 
hell-hated, 280 
helps (= heals), 262 
hemlock, 261 
high noises, 250 
high-engendered, 237 
high-judging, 232 
hit (= agree), 192 
hog in sloth, 241 
hold amity, 232 
hollowness, 195 
holp, 251 
holy cords, 219 
home (= fully), 213, 239 
honest (= chaste) , 192 
honoured (= honorable) , 

275 
Hoppedance, 247 
horn is dry, thy, 248 



horrible (adverb), 264 
horse's health, 246 
hospitable favours, 251 
host (figurative), 276 
house, 229 
hovel (verb), 273 
how chance ? 227 
hundred-pound, 217 
hurricanoes, 236 

i' the heat, 192 

idle (=weak), 193, 198 

idle (= worthless), 262 

image and horror, 198 

images (= signs), 227 

immediacy, 278 

impertinency, 268 

important (= importu- 
nate), 263 

importune (accent), 245 

in (= in respect to) , 190 

in a due resolution, 194 

in contempt of man, 
224 

in mercy, 210 

in my strength, 216 

in the least, 188 

in this trice of time, 
189 

in three, 179 

incense, 234 

indistinguished, 271 

influence, 197 

ingenious, 251, 271 

ingrateful, 230 

inheriting, 218 

innocent (= fool) , 246 

intelligent, 235, 246, 250 

intend upon, 275 

interessed, 182 

intrinse, 220 

invade, 186, 239 

ise (= I shall), 270 

it (possessive), 206, 256 

jakes, 219 
jealous, 276 
judicious, 241 
justicer, 246, 259 

kibes, 211 
kill, kill, 269 
kindly, 211 
knapped, 228 
knave (= servant), 199 
knee (verb), 232 



3<D2 Index of Words and Phrases 



lady the brach, 203 

lag of, 192 

lances (= soldiers), 278 

last and least, 181 

late (= lately) , 245 

launch (= lance), 214 

let-alone, 279 

letters (= letter), 259, 271 

liberty, 179 

light of ear, 241 

like (= likely), 191, 256, 

like (= please), 188, 221 

lily-livered, 218 

Lipsbury pinfold, 217 

list (transitive), 281 

little-seeming, 188 

little world of man, 234 

living (= property) , 203 

loathly (adverb), 213 

long-ingraffed, 191 

look (= look for) , 239 

loo, loo! 241 

looped, 239 

lord's dependants, 250 

lose (= cause to lose) , 

190, 196 
low (= lowly) , 225 
lowness, 240 
lym, 248 

madded, 257 
made mouths, 237 
Mahu, 244 

main (= mainland) , 234 
make from, 186 
make nothing of, 234 
make oppose, 275 
make return, 229 
make such a stray, 188 
makes his generation 

messes, 184 
makes not up, 188 
man of salt, 269 
manners (number), 282 
mantle, 243 
marble-hearted, 208 
marjoram, 267 
material (= nourishing), 

256 
matter (= sense), 268 
mature (accent), 271 
maugre, 279 
me (expletive), 194 
means, 254 

means (singular), 262 
meiny, 226 



memories (= memorials) , 

272 
mend and mar, 183 
men's impossibilities, 266 
Merlin, 239 
milk (= pastures), 182 
milk-livered, 257 
milky gentleness and 

course, 210 
minikin, 247 
miscarried, 275, 276 
modest, 226, 272 
Modo, 244 
moe, 212 
moiety, 178 
monsters (verb), 189 
moonshines, 192 
mopping and mowing, 

254 
moral, 257 
more corrupter, 221 
more (dissyllable), 210 
more harder, 238 
more headier, 228 
more, more woful, 281 
more ponderous, 181 
more worse, 223 
more worthier, 174 
mortified, 225 
most poorest, 224 
mother (= hysteria) , 227 
motion (in fencing), 213 
motley, 204 
mumbling, 213 
my made intent, 272 

nature, 246 
natural, 216 
natural fool of fortune, 

269 
naught, 229 
naughty, 242, 251 
neat slave, 218 
necessity's sharp pinch, 

231 
nether, 259 
nether-stocks, 226 
nettles, 261 
nicely, 221 
nighted, 263 
noiseless, 257 
nor other foulness, 189 
not (transposed), 215, 

255 
note, 235 
note (= warrant), 278 



nothing (adverb), 226 
notice (= attention) , 232 
notion (= mind) , 207 
nuncle, 203 

O, 205, 253, 280 

obscured course, 224 

observants, 221 

object, 225 

oeillades, 264 

o'erlook (= look over), 

193, 276 
o'er-read, 193 
o'er-watched, 224 
of (= on), 211 
of (with verbal), 198 
of her bosom, 243, 264 
of the commission, 247 
offend (= injure), 192 
office (= service) , 227 
old (= wold) , 243 
old course of death, 253 
oldness, 193 
on capital treason, 279 
on every trifle, 198 
on (= of), 203, 211 
on necessity, 196 
one-trunk-inheriting, 218 
only (transposed), 185 
operation of the orbs, 184 
opposed, 258 
opposeless, 265 
opposites, 278 
or (= before) , 233 
other (plural), 205 
other (transposed), 208 
our means secure us, 253 
out (= abroad), 179 
out-wall, 235 
overture, 252 
owe (= own), 188, 203 

packings, 235 

packs, 277 

pain (= labour) , 236 

particular, 210, 275 

pass (= die) , 265, 284 

pass upon, 251 

pawn down, 194 

peace (verb), 267 

peascod, 205 

pebble (collective), 265 

pelican, 241 

pelting (= paltry), 225 

pendulous, 240 

perdu, 273 



Index of Words and Phrases 303 



perdy, 227 

perforce, 256 

persever, 246 

piece (=masterpiece),267 

pieced, 188 

pight, 214 

Pillicock, 241 

pinfold, 217 

plain (verb), 235 

plate (verb), 268 

plight, 183 

plighted (= folded), 191 

plucked, 259 

poise (= weight), 216 

policy, 193 

port (= refuge), 224 

portable, 250 

ports (= portals), 215 

poverty (concrete), 239 

power (= army) , 235 

powers (= army), 256 

practices (= plots), 198, 

216, 228 
practised on, 238 
prefer (= commend), 191 
pregnant, 215, 270 
prescribe not us, 191 
present (= assume), 225 
presently, 226, 228 
press-money, 266 
pretence (= design), 194 
prevent (= avoid), 244 
profess, 199 
promised end, the, 282 
proper (= comely), 179 
proper deformity, 257 
provoking merit, 246 
pudder, 237 
puissant (dissyllable), 

281 
pur, 247 
put on, 206, 216 

quality (= temper) , 227, 

229 
queasy, 213 
questrists, 250 
quicken, 251 
quit (= acquit), 213 
quit (= requite), 252 

rail on, 218 
rake up, 271 
rank (= gross) , 206 
razed, 199 
reasoned, 275 



regards (= considera- 
tions), 190 

remediate, 263 

remember (= remind), 200 

remorse (= pity), 258 

remotion, 228 

renege, 220 

repeals (= recalls), 250 

reposal, 214 

reserve thy state, 186 

resolve me, 226 

respects of, 190 

retention, 278 

revenges, 250 

revenue (accent), 186, 
216 

reverbs, 187 

riched, 180 

rings (= sockets), 281 

ripeness is all, 276 

rip their hearts, 271 

roundest (= plainest), 200 

rubbed (= hindered) , 223 

ruffle, 234 

sa, sa, sa, sa, 269 

safe and nicely, 280 

safer (= sounder), 266 

Saint Withold, 243 

sallets, 243 

sampire, 255, 264 

sapient, 247 

Sarum, 221 

save thee, 212 

savour, 256 

saw (= saying) , 223 

say (= assay), 280 

scape, 206 

scattered, 235 

sea-monster, 208 

secure, 254 

self, 180 

self-covered, 257 

self mate and mate, 261 

sennet, 179 

sepulchring (accent), 228 

sequent, 195 

sessa, 242, 248 

set (= stake) , 203 

set my rest, 184 

seven stars, 212 

shadowy (= shady), 180 

Shakespeare's Cliff, 255 

shealed peascod, 205 

short, 273 

show (= appear) , 208 



shrill-gorged, 266 

sights, 265 

silly-ducking, 221 

simple-answered, 251 

simples (= herbs), 262 

simular, 237 

sinews (= nerves), 250 

sir, 227 

sith, 188, 232 

sizes, 231 

slack ye, 232 

slaves (verb), 255 

sliver, 256 

smilets, 260 

smooth (= flatter), 220 

smug, 269 

Smulkin, 244 

snuff, 265 

snuffs, 235 

so (=be it so), 221 

so (omitted), 273 

something (adverb), 179 

sometime (adjective), 184 

soothe (= humour), 245 

sop o' the moonshine, 218 

sophisticated, 242 

sot (= dolt), 255 

space, 179, 271 

speak for, 208 

speculations, 235 

speed you, 269 

spherical predominance, 

196 
spill (= destroy), 236 
spite of intermission, 226 
split my heart, 281 
square of sense, 180 
squiny, 267 

stand in hard cure, 250 
stand in the plague, 192 
stands upon, 276 
star-blasting, 240 
stelled, 251 
still (= ever) , 210 
still-soliciting, 190 
stock (= put in stocks) , 

222, 231 
stock (= stocking) , 226 
stomach (= wrath), 279 
stone (= crystal), 282 
store, 248 

strain (= race) , 278 
strained (= excessive) , 

187 
strangered, 188 
strong, 215 



304 Index of Words and Phrases 



strook, 230 

strucken, 200 

subject (collective), 267 

subscribed, 192, 252 

subscription, 237 

succeed (= come to pass) , 

197 
success (= issue) , 197 
such . . . that, 189 
sufferance, 250 
suggestion, 215 
suited (= dressed), 272 
summoners, 238 
sumpter, 232 
superfluous, 255 
superflux, 239 
superserviceable, 218 
supposed (= pretended), 

279 
suum, mun, nonny, 242 
swear (= swear by), 187 

tadpole, 243 

take all, 235 

take patience, 229 

taken, 210 

taking (= malignant) , 230 

taking-off, 276 

tame, 257 

teem, 209 

tell (= count ? ) , 227 

temperarfce, 272 

tender of a wholesome 

weal, 206 
tender-hefted, 231 
tent (= probe), 209 
terrible (= affrighted), 193 
that (=in that), 180 
that ... as, 183, 200 
thee (= thou), 205, 282 
there 's life in 't, 269 
these kind of knaves, 221 
think'st 't is much, 239 
this', 268 

this fortune on me, 280 
this great world, 267 
this two days, 200 
thoroughly, 275 
thought-executing, 236 
threading, 216 
three-suited, 217 
throwest, 203 
thwart (adjective), 209 
tike, 248 

till further settling, 274 
time (= life), 191 



times', 254 

tithing, 243 

to (= against), 259 

to boot, 270 

Tom o' Bedlam, 197 

top (= head) , 230 

top (= overtop), 192, 281 

tough, 284 

toward (= at hand), 212, 

239, 269 
tranced, 281 
treachers, 196 
trick (= peculiarity), 267 
trilled, 260 
trindle-tail, 248 
trowest, 203 
trust (= trustworthiness) , 

216 
tucket, 215 
Turlygod, 225 

unaccommodated, 242 
unbolted, 219 
unbonneted, 235 
unconstant, 191 
under globe, 223 
undo this button, 284 
ungoverned, 263 
unkind, 190, 240 
unnumbered, 265 
unpossessing, 214 
unprized, 190 
unremovable, 227 
unsanctified, 271 
unspoke, 190 
unstate myself, 194 
unsubstantial, 253 
untented, 209 
untimely (adverb), 253 
upon (= against) , 249 
upon his party, 213 
upon respect, 226 
upon the gad, 193 
usage (= treatment), 226 
used it, 204 

validity, 181 

vanity the puppet's part, 

218 
vary (noun), 220 
vaunt-couriers, 236 
venge, 259 
very pretence, 200 
villain (= serf), 252 
virtue (= valour), 279 
vulgar, 270 



wage (= contend), 231 

wage (= stake), 243 

wagtail, 219 

walk (= go away) , 274 

wall-newt, 243 

walls are thine, the, 
279 

washed (of tears), 191 

waterish, igo 

wawl, 268 

web and pin, 243 

weeds (= garments), 272 

well-favoured, 233 

well flown, bird ! 267 

wert better, thou, 242 

what (= who), 243, 279 

what (= whoever), 279 

what (= why), 233 

what will hap, 250 

wheel (of fortune), 280 

whelked, 266 

where (= whereas) , 194 

which (= who), 208 

white herring, 247 

who (= which), 184, 193, 
260 

who (= whom), 199, 259 

whoop, Jug, I love thee! 
207 

wield, 179 

wind me into him, 194 

wind up, 272 

wit shall ne'er go slip- 
shod, 211 

with (=by),233, 234 

with checks as flatteries, 
etc., 198 

wooden pricks, 225 

word (= watchword), 267 

worships (= honour), 208 

worsted-stocking, 217 

worth the whistle, 256 

worthied, 222 

wrath (= object of), 184 

write happy, 278 

yeoman, 246 
yond, 265 

you were best, 202, 242 
young bones, 230 
honour, 194 



your 
zed, 219 



1903 



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Treatment Date: Feb. 2009 

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